Opposite Directions
by Helen Palsgraf
Summary: A parallel story to "New Directions" (a Veronica/Logan fic), "Opposite Directions" follows Mac and Dick from the end of Season 3, to post-Thousand Dollar Tan Line. Mostly canon-compliant. (Since there's new canon, "New Directions" will eventually finish, and the stories will coincide.)
1. Chapter 1

Monday, May 7, 2007

Mac was just about to knock on the door of the Neptune Grand penthouse, when her cell phone rang. Her hands already full, she fumbled with her laptop bag and wedged the accordion file under her chin, squirming to dig the phone out of her jeans. Trying to get her balance, she leaned against the penthouse door, steadying herself.

"Ha, got it," she said aloud, her phone in hand. That's exactly when the door opened, sending her falling backwards, and her documents scattering.

She shrieked on the descent, but didn't hit the floor as she expected. She assumed she was caught by Logan, her business partner, friend, and ex-boyfriend of more than one of her best girlfriends. But instead, she looked up into the hazy blue eyes of Dick Casablancas.

"Aw… are you falling for me, Mackenzie?" he snickered, obviously pleased with himself. He helped her back upright.

"Apparently," she groaned. "Thanks for the save," she added.

_At least he still has quick reflexes, even drunk_, she thought. She knelt down, picking her papers up off the floor and felt Dick's eyes on her.

"While you're down there…" he suggested, grinning wickedly.

"Gross, Dick," she said, an automated response to most things he says to her. "Where's Logan?"

"Not here," he shrugged. He retrieved his beer from the table and took a swig.

She remembered her phone was the cause of all the commotion. "Missed call Logan Echolls." There was a voicemail.

"Hey, Mac, I'm running late, but I should be there in about thirty minutes. I got stuck in another stupid trust fund meeting with the lawyers. They said it was only going to take an hour, and here I am three hours later, just leaving. I'm pretty sure they're draining my trust with their jacked up attorney fees. Anyway. I wanted to give you the head's up, since Dick's there, and you know how he's been lately, so, if you want to hang down at the restaurant, feel free to charge it to the penthouse. See you soon."

_Oh sure. Now he calls._

Resigned to her fate, she asked, "So, how's it going, Dick?"

"Just bitchin. I'm catching up on my drinking," he belched, for effect. "Way behind for the day. And you?"

"Just enjoying some down time since the semester ended. Logan and I are going to be working on the website, but he's apparently running a little late…"

"Need me to entertain you?" He belched again.

She looked at him with disdain. "Not particularly."

"Something to drink then?"

"Sure, why not."

He grabbed her a beer from the fridge, twisted off the cap and handed her the bottle. It was barely noon, but she took a swig anyway. She wondered how long he'd been awake, and how many he'd already had. Enough to smell like beer, even stronger than his overpriced cologne. Enough for his eyes to be dulled. She can't remember the last time his eyes were clear of the haze of alcohol. _Before Cassidy_, she thinks.

She sat down on the couch, unpacked her laptop and reorganized her papers. Dick plopped down on the couch beside her and picked up the Xbox controller; Halo 2 was paused on the screen. She looked down at the papers and grunted.

"Give me that," she demanded, grabbing the controller from him. He picked up the second controller and she unpaused the game and joined in. Neither spoke, just gamed.

Forty-five minutes later, her cell phone rang again. She paused the game, and Dick got up to bring them "round three" of beer (her "round three" at least; his "round," however, was still unknown).

"Mac," she heard, as she answered. "I am so sorry. My piece of shit car got a flat and stupidly, I don't have a spare. I'm waiting for tow truck."

_Your "piece of shit" car is worth more than I'll ever make in a year._ "Dude, that sucks. Do you need me to come get you?" she asked, continuing to play, the phone tucked between her ear and her shoulder. "It's no trouble."

"No, it's fine, I just feel bad making you wait around. You want to reschedule?"

"I don't have anything else going on today, I'm fine to wait. Just warming your couch, playing Halo. I'll see you whenever you get back."

"Cool. See you soon."

She took a swig from the fresh beer, and continued playing.

"I'm bored." Dick sighed, as his AI bites the dust. "I've found every Easter egg. I've killed everything possible. I need a new game."

"Hey, don't despair, Halo 3 comes out in September."

He grunted. "Too long to wait. Can't you hack a copy now?"

"Yeah, I could, there's a final testing copy out there, but I won't."

He whined.

"What? It'll take the suspense out of it. I want to wait," she explained.

"I hate waiting. I spend my whole life waiting for something good to happen. I'm just bored," he sighed, running a hand through his messy blond hair.

She finished the third beer. "How can you possibly be bored? You have unlimited funds, the resources to do whatever you want to do, go wherever you want to go. If you're bored, it's because you're waiting for something to happen instead of making it happen."

He rolled his eyes, "I'm trying to make something happen. I'm trying to make you get me a copy of Halo 3."

"Not what I meant. Seriously, Dick, you could pretty much do anything or have anything. You should figure it out. Figure out what you want."

His brow furrowed, he frowned. "You think I need to be more… what? Proactively engaged in the present?"

Slightly surprised by a sudden sophistication of language, she smiled. "That's quite a mouthful, but yeah, actually, you should…"

He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders and pressed his lips to hers. Shocked, he'd already managed to push his beer-flavored tongue into her mouth before she recovered enough to shove him, hard, away from her and off the couch.

"What the hell, Dick?!" she shouted. "I have a goddamn boyfriend, you asshole!"

He blinked at her, his gaze foggy. That's when she realized he was even more drunk than she'd originally thought.

"Sorry, just seizing the moment," he mumbled, sat back on the couch and picked the controller back up as though nothing happened. "You gonna play, or what?"

She grunted and pressed a button on the controller. _Asshole._

Logan finally arrived an hour later, to Mac on her fifth beer, and Dick on an undetermined number of beers. Dick gave Logan a dark look and slammed the door of his bedroom behind him.

"What's his problem?" Logan asked Mac, retrieving a bottle of water for her from the fridge.

She just shrugged with resignation. She chugged the bottle of water. Two more beers and a bottle of water, and she could still taste him. She doesn't get it, Dick's fascination with her. From the torment in high school when she dated his brother, to the cold, empty stares he gave her at Cassidy's funeral, to the cruel remarks dismissing her relationship with Cassidy as illusory, to the desperate attention-seeking he'd been engaging in lately. Yet, she continues to bear it. She's not sure why. She should just refuse to be around him, just tell Logan to keep him the hell away from her. She could strike out at him to hurt him as badly as he'd hurt her on several occasions; she knows she could. But she doesn't have the energy or the desire. She knows he's suffering. It's like kicking a growling, snapping dog whose leg is caught in a trap. So, she bears it. Part of her penance of having loved Dick's disturbed younger brother.

"He's having an off day," she stated, as though that explained everything.

Logan merely nodded.

They got to work, and quickly ran through all of the changes to the website, the updates to the business plan, and the strategy for ad revenue. Two hours' later, Mac packed up her belongings and exited the penthouse.

She was waiting for the elevator when she heard the penthouse door open and close.

"Mac," he said.

She turned around to look at him. He didn't come any closer, and she waited for him to speak.

"I – I'm sorry," he said, his eyes full of pain, bloodshot from alcohol, lack of sleep, and obvious crying.

She looked at him; really looked at him. It suddenly struck her that he looked like a 19 year old kid and a man, old and worn, at the same time. It wasn't just that he was starting to show damage from his hard drinking, although that was part of it. He just looked tired, as though he hadn't slept since…

She sighed. She knew the feeling.

"Dick… it's time for you to get better," she said gently, and stepped into the elevator. As the doors closed, she wondered to what next stage of his grief she would be subjected.

"I should've just stayed in Neptune anyway," Parker complained. "It's torture."

"Yeah, well, I'd happily trade places with you," Mac grumbled, balancing her phone against her shoulder as she dissembled her laptop to replace a burned out drive.

"Everything okay?"

"Stupid computer. This isn't a great day. I spent the afternoon drinking and gaming with Dick, and the asshole tried to kiss me again. I'm trying to be supportive, for Cassidy's sake, for my sake, I guess, but I don't want his tongue anywhere near me."

"Fair enough. You would probably catch herpes, like, the second his mouth touched yours."

Mac shuddered. She needed some Listerine, immediately. Maybe some Acyclovir.

"Everything okay with you? Family torture aside?" Mac asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Still emotional when I think about what happened with Logan, but I'm getting better. I'm coming to terms with reality, that it's my own fault. I should have known he wasn't over Veronica, and I should have kept it casual. You don't move on from a broken heart that quickly," her voice shaking.

Mac sighed. _That's for sure._

Parker cleared her voice. "But I'm not really mad, at him or at Veronica, not anymore. They have history and baggage, and I should have stayed clear. Life lesson."

She thought Parker was more trying to convince herself than Mac.

"Yeah, life lesson," Mac agreed. She just wished lessons weren't often so devastating.


	2. Chapter 2

Monday, May 14, 2007

Mac was sleeping soundly when she woke to the sound of her phone buzzing on her bedside. She didn't recognize the number. Normally she wouldn't answer an unknown number, but being half asleep, she just hit Talk.

"Mackenzie," she stated.

"Ms. Mackenzie, this is Clarence Wiedman from Kane Software. How are you this morning?"

_Kane Software? Clarence Wiedman? Oh shit._

"Well, it's 7:30, so it's a bit early still to tell. How about you, Mr. Wiedman?" she said, sounding remarkably calm for how terrified she felt, clutching her bedspread tighter.

"So far, quite productive. Mr. Kane would like to discuss a sensitive matter with you as soon as possible, and it is imperative that you use discretion. Can you be discrete, Ms. Mackenzie?"

"Yes, I can be discrete. But what is this concerning?"

"That will be discussed at your meeting this morning. Mr. Kane has a proposition to discuss with you. I will send a car for you at your home at 10:30. Is that acceptable?"

"Yes, but that isn't necessary. I am perfectly capable of driving…"

"The car will be there at 10:30. See you then."

The line went dead.

A car? He was sending a car? Like she was some sort of VIP. Or member of a mafia. _Either way, this sounds awful._

She quickly showered and pulled out her one "professional outfit" from her closet. She briefly thinks of calling Veronica, but quickly decides against it. If she's going down for cracking the security on that hard drive, there is no point in bringing Veronica in on it.

She does, however, send a text to Logan, just before 10:30. "If I end up in jail today, will you come bail me out?"

His response: "Yes, but I reserve the right to snap jail house photos before posting."

"Fair enough."

* * *

Much to her surprise, she left Kane Software with a job offer, not in handcuffs.

She immediately called Max to meet her for lunch. She had the Kane driver drop her at a taco dive near campus to wait for him.

When he walked in the door twenty minutes later, she could tell he'd been sleeping when she called. His hair was a mess and his clothes wrinkled, like he'd fallen asleep in them. He had remnants of toothpaste on the left side of his mouth.

"Long night?" Mac asked, wiping away the toothpaste before she kissed him.

"Up playing WoW til the sun came up. What was so urgent?" he asked, yawning, taking a long drink of Mountain Dew.

"I got a job," she beamed.

"That's great, babe. Congratulations," he smiled.

"It's more than that. It's a huge job. It's the start of my future," she flushed.

"So, what is this job?" he asked, looking intrigued.

"Kane Software. Engineer. Intern until graduation, then permanent employee. The salary when I graduate will be enough that I could change my zip code," she grinned.

"That's fantastic! You are buying lunch, sugar mama," he said, as the waitress came to take their order.

"So, I was thinking…" Mac began.

"Hm?" Max asked, shoveling chips into his mouth.

"Well, with classes out for summer, and your major source of revenue being writing papers, you could use some help with the rent."

"Ah, Mac, I can't take your money," he waved her off, shoving a whole chip smothered with salsa into his mouth.

"You could if I lived with you," she offered.

Max started coughing immediately, the chip obstructing his airway.

"Max? Are you okay?" Mac asked, concerned.

He nodded, taking a drink. "Wrong pipe," he gasped.

When he stopped coughing, she asked gingerly. "So, what do you think? Us living together?"

"Um, well, do you think it's a good idea?"

She smiled. "I do. I'm over at your place all the time anyway, and you could use the help with the rent."

He sat for a moment, thinking, and then answered, "Okay."

"Okay?" she smiled.

"Yeah, okay. Let's do it," he said, smiling.

She shrieked and leaned over to give him a kiss. "Let's go out somewhere nice tonight to celebrate. Dinner's on me too!"

He laughed. "I could get used to this sugar mama thing!"

She couldn't wait to tell Veronica.


	3. Chapter 3

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

It had been almost a month of living with Max, and things were going as well as can be expected. It was new territory for Mac, being in a serious relationship, in a healthy relationship.

There were hiccups, of course. Max, as far as roommates go, was rather disgusting. She ended up doing most of the cleaning, and if she wanted something other than take-out, she was cooking too. Doing so at the end of a long day at Kane Software was exhausting.

But it was nice making a home with Max. Coming home to someone who was happy to see her, having sex with someone who made her feel beautiful and loved, and spending the night wrapped in his arms, safe and loved. Well, when he was actually in bed, and wasn't up all night gaming.

Max had texted her earlier that day to say he was getting dinner on his own, and he was going to a local game shop to play an RPG with a few buddies, including the shop owner, so don't wait up.

She responded with a "have fun, call me if you need a ride home," and texted Logan to see if he had time to run through her monthly reports on the website traffic, and do some scheduled maintenance.

It was 9pm by the time she got dinner and a change of clothes and arrived at the penthouse.

Logan opened the door and she noticed right away something was… off.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah…" he hesitated.

"What's going on?" she inquired, as she walked into the penthouse and he closed the door behind her. She didn't need to be a detective to know when something was amiss.

"I dunno. The usual. Shit with Veronica, shit with Dick," he sighed, running a hand over his face, as though that would force it all away.

She nodded in sympathy. "So, which one do you want to tell me about first?"

He shrugged. "Neither?"

"Come on. You need to spill it," she stated, matter-of-factly.

He sighed again. "Okay. Veronica was here earlier."

"Oh?" she said, with mild surprise. "How did that go?"

"Well, she got here before I did and Dick both apologized for contributing to the cause of her rape by Cassidy and then…" he stopped when he saw Mac visibly flinch at the mention of his name. "Sorry, Mac, I didn't think…"

"No, Logan, no, it's fine. I am by far not the person most traumatized by Cassidy. Please, continue… Dick apologized to Veronica?"

"Yeah, apparently his alcohol-infused self-loathing blames himself for Veronica being raped, because he spiked Madison's drink, and then he left Veronica in the room with Cassidy, having taunted him that he couldn't even score with a chick who was unconscious."

"He couldn't have known what Cassidy would do," she found herself defending Dick. "Nobody would have thought that of him, least of all his own brother. Nobody had any idea what he was capable of."

He shrugged. "That's what Veronica told him. But he's not being rational. He's been drinking a lot since his dad has been around, and honestly, I think it's been worse lately than even last summer."

Mac sighed. "Where is he now?"

"No idea. So, that was the other thing. He gropes Veronica right in front of me, and makes another snide comment about me sleeping with Madison, and not long after Veronica left, he stormed out."

"How drunk was he? He didn't drive, did he?" she frowned.

"Pretty damn drunk, and no, I checked. He's been gone since 3 this afternoon. He either walked or took a cab."

"Are you worried?"

"A little, yeah," he admitted.

"Well, let's find him, then."

"How? I've called his cell a dozen times, he's not answering."

"But it's still on?"

"Yeah."

"Then we can find him," she said, sitting down on the couch and opening her laptop. Logan sat next to her to watch her in action.

She quickly tracked Dick's phone, and narrowed his location down enough that they had a pretty good idea where he was: Cassidy's grave.

"I'll go," she offered.

"No, you don't have to do that, he isn't your problem," Logan sighed. She noticed Logan had that same worn look as Dick, minus the alcoholism; a product of being aged by tragedy.

She smiled softly and patted his hand. "I know, but I'm your friend, and I'm going to spare you the pain of putting him back together just this one night. Besides, I think you being there will only exacerbate what he's dealing with."

Logan sighed. "All right. But call me if you need me."

She nodded. She left the business documents there, and instructed him to get a head-start on the work, which they would continue the next evening. At her place.

* * *

Mac picked up a bouquet of white daisies on her way to the cemetery. She'd only been there a handful of times since they buried him. She still didn't know what to feel, exactly. She had loved him, or at least loved the person she thought he was. She still didn't know if that person really even existed, or if it was just a cover. Dick might have been trying to hurt her when he said she was Cassidy's beard, but she often wondered herself if it wasn't true. Did Cassidy love her? Was he even capable of loving her? Had he wanted to, but found himself unable to do so? Was she merely a distraction from his pain, from his terror as he inflicted it on the rest of the world? And more importantly, how stupid was she for not realizing that everything about their relationship, about him, was off? More than off; it was so very wrong.

The awful thing was that she would never know, because the only person with the answers to those questions is the one rotting in the ground. She gripped the daisies a little tighter.

She caught sight of Dick in the remaining light of the cemetery, sitting next to the marble grave marker, and resting his forehead against it. It was dusk, and she was grateful she had a penlight in her bag, because the cemetery had no lights. Technically, it had closed two hours ago, and she had to jump a fence to get in. The evening breeze was unseasonably cool, and combined with the ghost she was here to visit, she shivered.

He must have heard her approach, and with his speech slurred said, "I know the cemetery's closed, but I just need to talk to my brother. Just a few more minutes, okay, dude?"

"Dick," she said, gently, causing him to look up.

"What are you doing here?" he said harshly, his voice heavy with grief and alcohol.

"I came to bring fresh flowers," she stated simply, then took a deep breath before continuing. "Cassidy bought me daisies once, when we were out on a date at the beach. This street vendor was selling them, and he picked them out. He said it was the perfect flower for me. Something like, it was simple and unassuming on the surface, but in reality was beautiful and bold and complex. Honestly though, I think that statement might have better described him. So, yeah, daisies." She laid them in front of the grave, and touched the cold marble with her hand. Then she sat down on the other side of the gravestone, facing Dick. She could see him staring at the daisies and watched as a slow realization passed across his face. He would have noticed the daisies from just over a week ago, the wilted ones still sitting in front of the grave – the one year anniversary of Cassidy's suicide. She supposes the thought hadn't occurred to him that she still cared.

"So, why are you here?" she asked, gently.

"I came to apologize. I came to ask his forgiveness."

Mac nodded. "I don't think it's _his_ forgiveness you need though, Dick."

"Whose do I need? Tell me you aren't going to say God," he sneered, taking another swig from his bottle of whiskey.

She smiled and shook her head. "You need to forgive yourself. Unlike Cassidy, you're still alive, you need to remember that and start living."

"I don't want to remember. I just want to forget. I want to drink until I forget everything."

"And do you? Forget? Even for a moment?" she asked.

A sob erupted from his chest and he could only shake his head.

At that, she moved to sit beside him and held him in her arms as he cried.

They stayed at the cemetery for nearly an hour. Dick hadn't noticed when Mac moved his bottle of Jack Daniels away from him and tipped it onto its side, spilling the remainder of its contents. Or at least if he had, he didn't protest. After he stopped crying, he started sipping on the water bottle Mac had given him, and the two sat in silence.

Dick was the first to break the silence. "I don't want to go home."

"Okay," Mac said. "Where do you want to go?"

"Anywhere but here. Anywhere but the penthouse."

"Okay, what do you suggest?"

"Can I go to your place?"

She sighed. Max was probably still gaming anyway. "Okay. But you're sleeping on the couch. And if you make any sort of inappropriate comment to Max in the morning when he comes home, I will clear out your trust fund and donate it to the feminist organization of my choosing. Got it?"

He held up both hands. "I will be the best house guest you've ever had."

"You're the only house guest I've ever had. Behave."

By the next morning, however, Dick was already gone and Max still hadn't returned home. Max had texted at 6am while she was in the shower that he was going for breakfast with the guys and wished her a good day at work.

That afternoon, Mac got a delivery of two dozen daisies of the most breathtakingly vibrant colors. There wasn't a card, and her coworkers all assumed they were from Max. But she knew better.


	4. Chapter 4

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

"Knock, knock," Logan said as he opened the door, instead of actually knocking.

"Hey, come in, just putting the finishing touches on the pesto," Mac said, tossing the pasta in a large bowl. She handed Logan a glass of red wine.

"Where's Max? Isn't he joining us?" he asked, taking a sip then grabbing a piece of bruschetta from the serving platter and shoving the entire piece in his mouth. "Mmm… ymmm," he mumbled with his mouth full.

Mac shook her head. "No, he's apparently helping a friend move tonight and they're grabbing pizza."

"His loss, you're an awesome cook. That's the only reason we're business partners, so you'll feed me."

She smiled, and clinked her wine glass to his.

"So, how's Dick today?" asked, eyeing his reaction over the rim of her glass.

"You know, he's not too bad. He's detoxing instead of drinking, so that's an improvement. He said he crashed on your couch last night?"

"Yeah, it was a pretty rough night. I hope something gets through to him. He can't keep on like he is," she frowned.

He gave her a pained smile. "Thanks for being patient with him. I know he's not your problem…"

She waved the appreciation away. "He's not, but no one but us can understand what he's going through, the guilt he feels, the devastation. He's never been my favorite person, but even he doesn't deserve what Cassidy left behind. Or the shit from his dad."

Logan nodded. "Even so, you're extremely kind."

"Thanks," she smiled. "So, you never told me about the Veronica part of the evening. What happened there, anyway?"

"The usual song and dance. She comes over, threatens me, but in the end, she actually thanks me."

"Weird. You didn't tell her what you have on Mr. Kane, did you?"

"Definitely not."

"She doesn't suspect my involvement?"

"No, and neither does your boss, I'm assuming, since you have a job."

"Well, that's a relief on both counts," she said into her wine glass, taking another large drink.

After dinner, she and Logan spent the remainder of the evening working on updating the website, and after killing a second bottle of wine, mostly himself, it's Logan's turn to fall asleep on her couch. He mutters that it smells like Dick before he passes out.

Mac had already changed into her shorts and a tank-top, washed her face, brushed her teeth and crawled under the covers before realizing she left her cell phone charger in the kitchen. Since it was cool in the apartment when she got back out of bed, she decided to grab an extra blanket for Logan. She was placing it on him, when the front door opened.

"Hey, babe," she whispered. "Shh, Logan's asleep."

Max frowned at her, and just tossed his keys on the coffee table in response.

"Shh!" she hissed. She grabbed her charger and followed him into the bedroom.

"What's he doing here?" Max said a little too loud.

"He drank a lot of wine. We were up late working, I didn't want him driving, so I told him he should crash here."

"He was here last night too, wasn't he?"

"No…" she started, realizing she hadn't talked to Max long enough to have told him about Dick.

"Just, whatever, I'm going to shower, then go to bed," he said, turning off the light and heading into the bathroom without another word.


	5. Chapter 5

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Mac heard a knock on her door. She reached over to shake Max to answer the door, but found he wasn't in bed. She heard the shower running and groaned.

She was so surprised to find the early morning visitor was Dick Casablancas, she opened the door without even considering how she looked. Until she saw him staring at her chest; she was wearing a tight white tank top and boy shorts. She cleared her throat and crossed her arms and he finally made eye contact.

"Hey, Mac," he smiled.

"Hi, Dick," she answered, a little testy.

"I didn't wake you did I?" he asked, surprised. She just blinked at him in response. "Sorry! I was just about to head to the beach for some surfing, and your place was on the way."

_Not true_, she thought, _but okay_.

She waited for him to continue.

"So, um, I wanted to thank you, again, for the other night. And, I was hoping…"

She looked at him expectantly.

"I'm taking a summer class. It's calculus. And I didn't exactly do great in Algebra last semester. So, I had to hire a tutor. It's really stressful. I thought some surfing might clear my head."

She still didn't respond.

"Look, what you said before, about figuring out what I want? I want to get my shit together. I want to actually pass my classes. I want to figure out what I want in life, because I'm not really enjoying myself."

She was still waiting to find out what this had to do with her.

"I just thought… maybe we could hang out sometime. You know? Outside of us both being friends with Logan, I thought… I thought we could be friends too."

She took a moment to appraise the tall blonde in front of her. He looked much better than he had the other night, he looked almost healthy. "Okay," she nodded.

"Okay, cool. Well, I'll see you around…friend," he grinned, brushing the blond hair out of his face in the morning breeze. He had started walking down the stairs, when Mac called back to him.

"Hey, Dick," she said, leaning over the railing. "Thanks for stopping by. And the flowers were really thoughtful."

He smiled and said, "That's what friends do, right?"

"Yeah, that's what friends do," she agreed. "By the way, I'm heading over to that new arcade on Third near campus this afternoon. It's pretty cool, you should check it out. Since you're bored with Halo 2 and all."

"I haven't been there yet," he replied. "Maybe I'll see you there today," he nodded, and continued to his truck.

She was now friends with Dick Casablancas? And she just invited him to hang out with her? In public? _How odd_.

She went back inside and closed the door. When she went back into the bedroom, Max was out of the shower, drying off.

"Who was at the door?"

She shrugged. "No one." She climbed back into bed and wondered why she'd just lied.

* * *

"I can't believe you want to leave already," Mac said over her shoulder. She was busy shooting aliens.

"I know, Babe," Max replied. "But my headache is just getting worse, I need to go home and take some Imitrex and sleep it off."

"Okay, well, I should come with you then. Just let me finish my game," Mac replied, advancing to the next level.

"No no, you're having a good time, you should stay. Besides, if you came home, you'd just be sitting in a dark apartment having to be quiet. Stay, have a good time," he said, kissing her cheek. "I'll be better by dinner tonight, I promise."

"I hope so. My parents are really looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to it," she said. He didn't answer; she glanced around and realized he had just left.

Mac sighed as she was blown up by aliens. She wished he'd go back to the doctor about his migraines. He seems to be getting them more frequently lately.

She had just decided she was going to go home anyway, when she caught sight of Dick across the arcade, playing a vintage pinball machine. He was doing extremely well at the game, so she just hung back and watched him for awhile. He looked a lot better. He'd obviously gotten some much-needed sun, and he looked rested and, well, like he used to. Back in high school when all the troubles of the world weren't on his shoulders.

Sure, his life had never been perfect, she knew; his mother was cold and distant, his father a manipulative con-artist who brought in a series of inappropriately-aged women into his sons' lives as a "mother figure." But Dick had always had the ability to brush off the disappointment in life, and pursue his own shallow agenda of pleasure-seeking. It wasn't until the death of his brother that he just became self-destructive. He didn't look self-destructive today. He looked - normal.

She waited until his game was finished, and he earned the high score, to approach him.

"Hey, you made it out," she said. "Never knew you were a master at pinball."

Dick grinned. "You'd be surprised about my many hidden talents."

"Gross, Dick," she laughed.

"Hey, what're you thinking about, perv? I was talking gaming talents. But now that you mention it..."

She smiled and shook her head. They decided to try some of the newer games, not from their childhoods, and spent the rest of the afternoon at the arcade.

Mac was having such a great time, she was surprised when her phone alarm went off.

"Oh! I have to go. Max and I are having dinner at my parents' house tonight," she said, slightly disappointed their time had to end.

He nodded. "That's cool. Hey, are you coming over to the penthouse tonight? We're having some people over. You should come."

She shrugged. "I'm not usually much for the drunk hook-up parties you guys have."

"Oh come on, it'll be fun. Bring Max if you want."

"Well, maybe. Depends how late we stay at my parents, we might come out."

"I hope so," he said, giving her a wave goodbye. She was slightly surprised he actually seemed to want her to come to their party.

* * *

Dinner with her parents was nice. Max was polite, although quiet; his headache had not quite subsided. They only stayed long enough to have dessert and headed home.

"I'm going to go back to bed. I'm sorry, Babe," he said, pitifully.

"That's okay," she said, glumly. "Hey, would you mind if I went out?"

"Where?"

"Well, we were invited to Logan's party, remember?"

"You want to go to Logan's party?"

She shrugged. "Not particularly. It's not really my thing. But with you laid up in bed, and Veronica's on an all-night stake-out, and Parker and Wallace are both gone. It's a Saturday night..."

He nodded. "Yeah, I get it, it's something to do. You should go. You shouldn't sit at home on a Saturday night just because I have a headache. Go to Logan's party. Just... be careful, okay? I know Logan's your friend, but... you know that crowd of people he hangs out with. Like his roommate. They aren't good people. Just be careful."

She nodded. She wasn't one for risk-taking behaviors anyway, other than relating to computers and questionable use. "Don't worry; I'm not planning to drink much, and if I drink too much to drive, I'll just crash on Logan's couch."

Max looked like he was going to object, but then seemed to think better of it. He frowned. "Okay... but if you do, will you at least text me so I know you're okay? I'll worry if you don't come home."

"I promise. Feel better," she said, kissing him before she left the apartment.

* * *

Logan and Dick's penthouse party was pretty tame, considering. She supposed it was because most of their classmates were out of town for the summer.

She was surprised to find she was having a good time. She did a round of shots with Logan, Dick and two of his frat brothers. The party attendance dwindled until it was just the five of them, a girl she recognized from the soccer team, and one she found out wrote for the school paper.

They played cards, and drank, and she was pleasantly surprised she could hang out with "the rich, popular kids" and not feel like an outcast. More importantly, these people weren't as awful as she thought. One of Dick's frat brothers was an engineering major, and the other was majoring in social work. They had both stuck around for the summer to do local internships. By the end, though, the engineering major took the soccer team girl home, and the journalism major was doing all she could to convince Mr. Social Work that she was not interested in a one-night stand, and he should call her when he was sober for a date.

Mac stuck around to help clean up, hoping that moving around would help her sober up so she could drive home. In the end though, Logan wouldn't let her drive, and she declined the offer of having the hotel shuttle her home. She texted Max at 1am that she was staying. He responded with an offer to come get her, but she again declined when he admitted that he still had a terrible headache.

After Logan went to bed, Dick came out to join her on the couch. They stayed up and talked for awhile longer, watching a lame sci-fi movie.

* * *

She doesn't remember falling asleep, but when she woke up, she found she was in a bed, not on the couch. She was momentarily afraid she would find a naked Dick Casablancas curled up next to her for warmth, but the bed was empty. She walked out to the living room to find Dick asleep on the couch, wrapped in a blanket like a burrito.

She smiled. She remembered he had practically carried her to his bedroom, insisting he couldn't let her sleep on the couch. She wasn't sure when Dick learned manners, but she appreciates the change.

Since it was still early, she let both Dick and Logan sleep. She was supposed to be hanging out with Logan on Monday night anyway.

Her head ached slightly from the alcohol the night before, but she felt happy and she closed the penthouse door softly behind her. She was grateful for these guys, her friends.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Thanks for all the lovely attention! It's nice to get back into writing again, and playing with some new characters this time. Just recently got interested in the Dick/Mac pairing, such fun. **

**Just a short chapter here, but the next one's big. Enjoy, follow, comment! I love the attention!**

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

"Do we have to go to this? It's going to be really awkward," Max groaned, struggling to press the elevator button while holding a casserole dish.

"Yes, we have to! Veronica needs our support. She hasn't really hung out with Logan since the whole Piz thing," Mac said, carrying two cloth bags of groceries on each arm.

They got onto the elevator with a young woman who pressed the penthouse button before either of them could. Mac raised her eyebrows at Max.

"What floor?" she asked them.

"The same," Mac responded. "Friend of Logan?"

"No, I'm a friend of Dick's," she responded. "You're friends with his roommate?"

"Both of them, actually," Mac found herself saying. _Again, friends with Dick, who'd have ever thought?_

"Cool. I'm Taylor," the girl responded, smiling.

"I'm Mac, this is Max," she answered. "Nice to meet you."

When they entered the penthouse, Logan grabbed the groceries from Mac and helped her get set up in the make-shift kitchen he'd arranged. He'd had the hotel send up an island on wheels, along with some cutlery, and she showed him how to chop the ingredients for her "world-famous" guacamole.

Max had annoyed Mac by bringing the advanced copy of Halo 3, much to Dick's delight. They started a game, while Taylor watched. Surprisingly, Taylor didn't seem too annoyed.

Mac was just glad Max was making an effort with Dick. He'd been less than supportive when she told him that she was "sort of" friends with Dick now; Max thought it was bad enough she was friends with Logan, but being friends with his underachieving, drunken buffoon of a roommate was absurd. She had to explain to him that Dick was making an effort to change, and he needed the support of his friends, including her. And she expected that her boyfriend would be equally supportive.

At least they seemed to be playing nicely together, Mac thought. She glanced at Logan. He seemed happier himself than he'd been in awhile.

"Dick seems to be doing a lot better," Mac commented to Logan.

"Yeah, you know, whatever you said to him that day he got completely wrecked and stormed out of here, it must have helped," he said, struggling with an avocado.

"I can't take credit for it. It must have been Veronica," she lied. She found herself doing that a lot lately, when it came to Dick. She can't figure out why.

They had moved out onto the balcony with the food and drinks by the time Veronica arrived. She found herself talking to Taylor, and being surprised to find out that she was Dick's calculus tutor, that's how they'd met. She had assumed she was just another sorority girl he brought for an easy score, and felt a little guilty she'd misjudged her, and Dick. Taylor actually seemed like she'd be really good for Dick.

However, Mac soon felt extremely uncomfortable when Dick began kissing the girl. She went into the kitchen to grab another beer. She couldn't figure out why it felt awkward. It's not like she hadn't seen him make out hot and heavy with all kinds of slutty girls at parties, like, at every party. Hell, she inwardly cringed; she'd even had his tongue in her own mouth. Maybe because now they were friends, she wanted to respect him, not intrude on his private moments.

"So, Mac, how're things with Max?" Veronica asked, taking a sip of her own beer. "I'm kind of surprised you were able to get him to come."

Mac laughed. "You have no idea how hard it was. No, things are going pretty well. I'm working a lot and he games a lot, so it's not like we're always in each others' space. It's nice."

Veronica nodded. "Dick at least seems better lately."

"Yeah, he's taking summer classes and trying to pull himself together. The girl he's with is his math tutor."

"Really?" Veronica asked, sneaking a peak at the girl in Dick's lap. "She's far too smart to be getting involved with Dick."

Mac shuffled her feet. She hadn't told Veronica yet that she and Dick had been hanging out. She decided she would just keep that fact to herself for the time being.

"So, how're you and Logan?" Mac asked, changing the subject.

"There is no 'me and Logan,'" Veronica insisted. "But we've decided to be civil, and slowly build a friendship. Maybe this time we can do that."

"I hope so. I hate to see the two of you at odds," Mac said, looking over at Logan talking to Max. Logan is a good guy, for all his flaws, and he truly loves Veronica.

The first few cracks of official fireworks lit up the sky over the ocean view, bringing them all back to the penthouse balcony. They stayed mostly silent for the 20 minute show, just enjoying the moment.

After the fireworks, Max said he wanted to go, and Mac agreed she was tired and had an early meeting at work the next day.

They said their goodbyes and Mac took one last glance at Dick before they left, curled up with this new girl. She thought he looked better, maybe even happy. She looked over at Max, who was busy tapping away on his phone, wondered why she didn't feel the same.


	7. Chapter 7

Thursday, July 26, 2007

"I'm sorry to hear that," Mac frowns, biting into her veggie wrap. "I really liked her."

Dick shrugged. "Me too. It was nice to go out with someone who wasn't just interested in my money. But at least if she was going to leave for Stanford, she did it before I actually got attached. We'd only been going out for a few weeks. Having sex with the same girl more than once was pretty hot, though, I'll miss that."

Mac laughed. "But, hey, you got back out there. And you got an A in calculus. That's incredible."

"Are you sure you didn't hack in and change my grade?" he grinned.

"Wasn't me. Might have been Logan though. If he could figure out how to turn on his laptop, of course," she smirked.

He laughed, "Well, it wasn't him, because he's in Mexico."

"He is? Huh. Nice of him to invite me. When's he coming back? We're supposed to do site updates tomorrow."

"No clue. He's down there with Ronnie," he stage whispered the last part.

"Seriously? Are they back together? No one tells me anything," she grumbled.

"Maybe. He's been spending more time with her since he bailed her out of jail for punching Madison. Damn, what I wouldn't give to have seen that cat fight," Dick said wistfully.

Mac grinned. "I have the surveillance video from the store, we can negotiate terms."

"Sweet!" he laughed, then whispered, "Don't tell Logan!"

She shook her head in amusement. "So, they're on vacation together in Mexico?"

"Not exactly. She had some case down there, and he was going with her to help out. They're posing as honeymooners at a very posh resort," he said, emphasizing the last part with a high-pitched tilt in his voice. "I let him use my old wedding band. Huh, at this point, he's worn it longer than I did," he mused.

She laughed. "Well, hopefully, he'll be taking it off when he comes home. You never know with those two. They'll either come back married or hating each other."

"Or both," he chimed in.

Just then, Mac's phone rang. "Sorry, I have to take this, it's the boss."

She answered, and mostly listened, inserting a few "Mmm hmmms" and then told him she'd get on it immediately.

She threw down a twenty to cover her lunch. "Hey, if you're finished, I need to go. The boss man needs me to do some extra work today. I'm gonna head over to the Hearst computer lab."

"Yep, all finished. While you're slaving away for the man, I will be relaxing, dude. At least until Monday when Summer Two session starts. Calculus part two, hurray. Time to find a new tutor. Hopefully one as hot as Taylor, although it was often distracting, but... Lose something?" he asked, watching her frantically search her bag.

Mac gasped. "I am such an idiot. I think I locked my keys in the car. I must have put them down in the trunk when I was unloading equipment across the street."

He pulled cash out of his wallet and put it with hers. "Don't stress. You got a spare key at home? I'll give you a lift."

"Oh, that would be great, thanks. Also, hey, while we're there, come up and look through the books I had for last semester and see if you need any of them for your Summer Two session. You can benefit from my thorough margin note-taking and color-coded underlining," she grinned.

"Yeah, until I find a new tutor, I'll take what I can get," he groaned, leading her to his truck.

* * *

Mac was surprised to see Max's car in the parking lot when they arrived. He was supposed to be on campus at Hearst all day. He must have just come home for lunch.

She found the door unlocked and opened it, letting Dick enter first. She heard him chuckle. "Dude, you should totally clean before you invite friends over. I didn't peg you for the type to leave your clothes all over the living room. Especially your underwear."

"What? My underwear is definitely not…"

Dick could tell by the pale look on her face that the clothes on the floor didn't belong to her. That's when he heard the noises from the bedroom.

"Mac, no…" he said, reaching to grab her arm as she stormed towards her closed bedroom door. She wrenched free of his grip and flung the door open.

She honestly wasn't surprised to see her boyfriend in bed with his ex-girlfriend, but it didn't make it hurt any less.

"How could you?" she gasped, the only thing that she could squeak out.

"Mac, I'm sorry, I wanted to tell you, I just didn't know how…" Max said, moving to cover the former prostitute with their… her… no, now, _his_ bed sheets. She could never look at those sheets ever again, no amount of washing could make them clean.

"Dude… so then _this_ is how you do it? Not cool," Dick interjected.

"Those late nights gaming lately… you've been… oh god," she said, and walked out of the room. She grabbed her laptop bag and spare keys and stormed out.

She practically ran down the stairs, back to Dick's truck, but she didn't get inside. She wasn't crying, but she was shaking.

Dick put a hand on her shoulder to steady her. "You okay?"

"No, but I will be," she said in a small voice, shivering. "I just need to get out of here."

"Okay, let's go," he said, opening the truck door and helping her inside.

She stared out the window numbly the entire drive, and was grateful Dick was silent for once. She didn't know how to feel, she felt so much at once. Shock, betrayal, hurt, confusion, _relief_.

She knew. She _knew_. Deep down, she knew he was still in love with his ex, knew she was in a relationship with a man who would rather she be someone else. But she cared for him, maybe even loved him, anyway. He'd been growing more distant even before she'd asked to move in with him. How long had he been sleeping with his ex? When was the last time she had sex with Max? It hadn't been much lately, she hadn't been seeing him much; he was always gone. And when they'd actually had sex? It had been quick and lacked passion. In retrospect, he'd been moody and picking fights with her. Things had not been great with them, but she was keeping too busy to worry about it. She'd gotten too comfortable.

She sighed audibly, shoulders slumping forward. All the signs had been there. She just wasn't looking.

Dick reached across the console and patted her hand.

* * *

Neither said a word as they went up to the penthouse. Once through the door, Mac pulled out her laptop and quickly set to reviewing the code sent to her. Dick sat on the couch and watched her typing furiously until the problem was resolved, which was finished in under 10 minutes.

Once she was finished, she sat staring at the screen, her hands in her lap.

There was a knock at the door, and she flinched, hoping it wasn't Max, but at the same time, hoping it was. Hoping he realized what a huge mistake he made and came to beg her forgiveness. Could she forgive him? She didn't think so. But she wanted him to want her to forgive him.

She was both relieved and disappointed it was room service.

Dick placed the tray on the coffee table beside her laptop. On it was a pot of chamomile tea, and an assortment of chocolates.

She gave him a small smile. "Thanks."

Just then, her phone buzzed with the sound of an email. It was from Max:

"I'm sorry you had to find out this way. This isn't fair to you, and if it's any consolation, I know what an asshole this makes me. Please know I really did love you, but I just never got over Wendy. When she came back in May, I tried not to care, but I'm weak. I'm sorry I didn't have the guts to tell you before. I was just hoping that you wouldn't find out until you moved back to campus this fall, and it wouldn't come to this.

I'm packing up your stuff, so you don't have to come back here. Please let me know where I can send it, and I'll need the key back tomorrow too. Wendy's moving in."

That was pretty much the final insult she could handle for the day. She had both hands over her face and did her best to choke down the sob.

Dick put an arm around her and the floodgates opened. She found herself crying against Dick's shoulder, something that should have mortified her, but considering the list of things to cause her humiliation this day, it was hardly worth considering.

After a few minutes, her sobs finally stopped and her breathing evened. Dick's arms were still wrapped tightly around her. _When did we become friends?_ Mac wondered. _The friends who comfort one another? How did we go from hating each other to this?_

As she pulled away, he handed her a box of issues and poured a mug of the tea. She realized he knew exactly how she liked her tea, a little honey and a squeeze of lemon. They were definitely friends.

Suddenly a thought occurred to her. "I didn't think to grab a change of clothes. I have to work tomorrow. Ugh, hopefully I still have something at my parents' house. I just… I guess I'm moving back in with them, til next month anyway. And I'll have to face them tonight… looking like this. Let them know they were right and moving in with Max was a huge mistake."

"On it," he said, picking up the hotel phone. "Concierge, please... Hey, Maggie, this is Dick Casablancas in the penthouse. My lady friend needs a toiletry set, she's staying the night… Yeah, she is…" he chuckled wickedly. "Oh, but also, she needs clothes for work tomorrow… and a set of dirty underthings. The dirtier the better," he winked at her as she groaned. "Here, she'll tell you her sizes."

He handed Mac the phone while she reluctantly muttered her sizes to the concierge. At least it was a woman she was telling her bra size to, and not that creeper bellhop.

"Thanks," she said, hanging up the phone.

"No problem. And you don't have to move back home, you can just crash here," he said, refilling her mug.

"I can't do that, I'd be in the way," she smiled, grateful for the offer.

"How do you figure that? Logan isn't even in the country. There's four weeks left until school starts back, and you'll be back in the dorms with Parker then, right? Besides, you'd be doing me a favor," Dick grinned.

"How do you figure that?" she asked.

"My math tutor just moved away, remember? You're good at math, right?"

"You want me to pay penthouse rent in math tutoring? How much tutoring do you need?"

"Something like that, and you have no idea," he groaned.

She thought for a moment. "Okay. But only until Logan gets back."

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind you staying until fall semester."

"I'd mind. Besides, I'm pretty sure he'll be back together with Veronica by the time they get back and I don't want to be here for that show."

He laughed. "Yeah, Ronnie is super loud, she could use a ball gag."

"Gross, Dick!" she squeaked, laughing.

He looked shocked. "What? I meant in public. What were you thinking about, pervert?"

She shoved him playfully, grateful for something to laugh about.

Dick looked suddenly thoughtful. "Mac, so I hope you know that guy's an asshole and a total idiot for cheating on you. He has no idea how cool you are, and he's not even worth feeling bad about it. So, don't feel bad."

She smiled at the compliment. "Thanks, but it's my own fault."

"How is him cheating on you your fault?" he asked, testily.

"I knew he still had feelings for Wendy, I knew he was hesitant for me to move in with him, and let's face it, my track record with guys is less than stellar. I clearly don't recognize an unhealthy relationship when I'm in one, and just keep pressing on until..."

Dick's expression darkened. "My brother isn't your fault either."

She sighed and he reached for her hand. "I know. I just didn't see the very obvious signs that he didn't really love me. You were right when you said…"

"No, I wasn't… it's not true," he said firmly. "What I said in your dorm room that night, again, I'm sorry, okay? It wasn't true; I was just being an asshole, I was trying to hurt you, just make you hurt as much as I did, and… I'm sorry. You weren't his beard. He loved you. I mean… he loved you as much as he could. He was really fucked up, yeah, but he loved you. And if he hadn't been fucked up, he would have given you everything you deserve, because he knew what he had. He knew how awesome you are, how smart and smoking hot. He knew that, and he wanted you because you are perfect. So I'm sorry that I was…"

She stopped him by pressing her lips to his. His initial surprise faded quickly and he responded, kissing her hard and passionately.

She pulled away with a gasp, and muttered a wide-eyed apology before excusing herself to the bathroom.

"Shit," he muttered, pouring himself a mug of tea and taking a swig of the burning liquid, trying to forget the intoxicating taste of her before he did something stupid. "Down boy," he commanded.

"Shit," she whispered, sitting on the bathroom floor with her head in her hands. _What did I just do?_ She thought. _Why did I just do that? God, why did it feel that good?_

After a few minutes on the floor, she stood up and decided she couldn't hide in the bathroom forever. She washed her face and dried it, and went back into the living room.

She stood in front of him, where he was clutching a mug of tea, and began her prepared speech. "Dick, I'm sorry, that was really inappropriate of me. I didn't mean to put you in an awkward position…" she saw his grin then laughed. "Stop! Don't say it!"

He laughed with her, and pulled her back beside him on the couch. "It's okay. I'm not offended that you would use me to feel better about your breakup. I'm always happy to help hot chicks get over their broken hearts in a variety of ways that involve exchanging bodily fluids."

"Gross, Dick!" she laughed miserably.

"Seriously. You feel better, right?"

"No, I'm embarrassed," she groaned.

"You shouldn't be. You should feel better. The lips of Dick Casablancas have healing powers. Anything you need… healed…"

"Gross! Stop!" she squealed and laughed harder.

"See? You feel better. You're smiling," he grinned at her, handing her a chocolate off of the tray.

"Yeah, I feel better. Thank you," she smiled, popping the chocolate into her mouth, and mumbled, "Prrrvrrt." He shoved another chocolate into her mouth in response.

They heard a knock at the door again, this time it was the concierge, who had brought up several items from the boutique downstairs for Mac to try on. She brought the items into Logan's room, temporarily her room, and admired the beautiful clothes and shoes. She groaned when she saw the price tags, but reminded herself that she can afford it now, particularly since she's no longer paying rent. And she deserved a little retail therapy after the day she's had.

She chose the short, black cocktail dress that, when paired with the beige suit jacket, was professional but was easily transformed into something for a night out. She also took a pair of black heels and black lingerie set to go underneath. And, on a lark, a silver satin slip nightie with lace trim, with a dark blue short satin robe. She felt grownup and sophisticated in the clothes, like someone who could pass for an executive at Kane Software, not an intern. But dress for the job you want, right? Not the job you have? That's what some big wig lady lawyer had said at that women's professional night she and Parker had gone to in the spring. Parker went right out and spent a bunch of money on new clothes. Mac thought it was a nice idea, but didn't have the money to redo her wardrobe. Until now.

Admiring the designer clothes that were certainly not her usual style, she considered how much her life has changed over the past few years. Here she is with a job that will provide her with the opportunity to change her life, starting with her social class. To the one she was born into, but that fate took away from her. She had often wondered what her life would have been like if she had been who she was born to be: Madison Sinclair. The rich, popular 09er who had dated Dick Casablancas.

Would she have dated Dick had she been Madison? She'd like to think not. The guy didn't even know she existed until she started dating his little brother. He was merely the guy who tormented her in high school, the guy who hated her after his brother died; the guy who fell apart. The guy who, somehow, recently became her friend. The guy whose penthouse she was sleeping in tonight. _The guy she had just kissed._

Why did she kiss him? Consolation, certainly. To shut down his apologies, definitely. Revenge on Max is likely, and maybe even revenge on Cassidy in some messed up way. But, truly, it was what he said. He said she was perfect. She knows that isn't true, but is that what he believes? Or was he just saying it to make her feel better? If he did, it worked; it made her feel better. And kissing him made her feel… special. Which is ironic considering kissing Dick Casablancas is hardly special. Who _hasn't_ kissed him? Her alter-ego Madison Sinclair had certainly done far more. When she'd kissed him, she didn't even think of how he'd respond. Would he run away, or would he try to grope her? She hadn't even considered it, she'd just acted impulsively. Yet, she still felt surprised that he kissed her back with so much… passion. As though she was the only one in the world. As though he meant it. That was what she couldn't figure out. She concludes that he's probably done it enough, he knows how to make a woman believe he's madly in love with her from one kiss. Fortunately, she knows better, or she would be very easily fooled.

She left the bedroom to return the items she didn't want to the concierge, and handed the woman her credit card and a twenty dollar bill for a tip. She looked around for Dick, but he was on the phone in his room. Just then her phone rang: Logan.

"Hey, Mac, can you help us out with something? We need some files cracked…" he explained briefly.

"Sure, Logan. Oh, and by the way, I'm sleeping in your bed tonight."

"Miss me that much? It's a little creepy, but if it makes you feel closer to me…"

"Hilarious. Dick's letting me crash at the penthouse until you get back. Long story, but I'm between homes at the moment."

She could just imagine him putting away his usual smirk and replacing it with his serious face. "Everything okay? If you want to talk about it…"

"I do, but not right now, not yet. I'm fine though really, but, look, don't say anything to Veronica, okay? I don't want a fuss. I just thought you should know I'm mooching off of you until I get moved back in with my parents, since it's a little too early to get back into campus housing."

"Mooch away. You're welcome to stay as long as you need, even once I get back."

"Thanks, Logan. Send me the files, I'll start working on them and let it run overnight."

She sat down on the couch, started the decryption software, and realized she was exhausted. She closed her eyes in pain. Her eyes were swollen from the crying, and she was getting a headache. Dick was still on the phone, so she decided to go shower.

She was too tired to feel any anxiety about getting into another shower at the Neptune Grand. Even so, out of habit, she locked the bathroom door before stripping down and letting the hot water pour down over her.

She felt years older, suddenly. Just when she thought she was getting herself put back together, and moving forward, she's reminded that she isn't so put-together after all. When all the pieces fell into place that allowed her to discover Max's infidelity, all the pieces of her fell apart once again.

Regardless, she has her friends, and even more of them now. Max had been unavailable so often, she'd been hanging out with her friends. Veronica, on occasion, but she was mostly tied up with her PI work. With Wallace and Parker both gone, she ended up with Logan and Dick a lot more. They'd grab dinner, the three of them, or four of them if Taylor was around, watch a movie, go to the beach or play some poker.

It seemed like days since she and Dick had gotten lunch, even though it had only been a few hours; everything had changed so much in just those few hours. Her floor at Kane Software was undergoing a remodel, and so she had the afternoon off, with the caveat that she was on call. Since Max was supposed to be tied up on campus all day, she'd called Logan to see if he wanted to have lunch, but he didn't pick up. Then she called Dick to see if he (and Taylor) wanted to meet for lunch after his morning class. Dick had a meeting with his adviser right after class, so she also took the opportunity to drop off some old computer equipment to donate to a nearby elementary school, which had been in her trunk for several weeks. That's when she'd locked her keys in her trunk. That's when Dick took her home, no, not home, not anymore… he took her to Max's apartment, for her spare set.

She tried to push away the memories of Max holding Wendy. She instead remembered the strong grip Dick had on her arm, trying to keep her from the sight in her bedroom. It was nice of him wanting to spare her the pain, but she needed that pain, to see it for herself. To remind her how foolish she is when it comes to men. The next image that flashed into her mind was kissing Dick. _Shit,_ she muttered. She needed to stop thinking about that, immediately.

She finished up in the shower, towel-drying her hair, and wrapping one of the large Neptune Grand towels around her. In Logan's bedroom, she found a clean Hearst t-shirt and a pair of drawstring shorts sitting on his bed that wasn't there before, and the door that was previously left open is now closed.

She dressed, then stepped out of the bedroom to find Dick had returned to the couch.

"Hey, I was going to order room service, let me know what you want," he said.

"Nothing for me, thanks. I think I'm going to turn in early. I'm exhausted," she said.

"Okay, if you're sure. Whatever time you need to get up, you should place an order for room service, that way you won't oversleep. That's the only way I ever get up for class after a long night of drinking."

"That's actually a pretty good idea. I feel like I could sleep for a week," she said, exhaling deeply.

"Goodnight," he said.

"Goodnight," she replied. She stopped before closing the bedroom door to say, shyly, "Hey, um, thanks for everything."

Before he could respond, the door closed. Which was just as well, before he invited her to sleep in his room instead.


	8. Chapter 8

Friday, July 27, 2007

Mac woke at 5:45 to the sound of knocking. She opened her eyes to find herself in Logan's bed, and heard Dick's voice. "Hey, Mac. Breakfast."

She groggily called for him to come in, and he brought the tray in and laid it on her lap.

"Breakfast in bed? I could get used to this," she said, grinning. He snagged a grape and popped it in his mouth in response.

"Sorry room service woke you up so early," she said, taking a whiff of the coffee. "I didn't hear the door."

He shrugged. "I'm usually up by now anyway. Got waves to catch. Enjoy slaving away for the man," he called over his shoulder, closing the door behind him.

Mac ate quickly and dressed for work. She was glad to see the swelling of her eyes had gone down, thanks to some ice and an eye cream provided by the helpful concierge. Even though she had no reason to avoid him, but still feeling awkward about having kissed him, she stayed in Logan's room until she heard the door to the penthouse close, signaling Dick had left for the beach.

_That kiss_, she thought. She needed to get it out of her mind.

She had a few minutes before she had to leave, and took the opportunity to finish her coffee on the balcony while watching the water as the sun rose behind them. What an amazing view. It was even more spectacular at night, to see the sun set on the Pacific.

From the balcony, she could see Dick leave the parking lot of the hotel in his truck, his surf board strapped in the back. Someday, she thinks, she'll move away from Neptune and she'll miss these sights.

* * *

Dick surfed himself to exhaustion. It was a relief to be getting his body back into shape. The toll the heavy drinking had been taking on him wasn't really evident until he started to get back on his board. His abs were regaining their definition, his arms and legs were strong again. It felt good to be healthy, and feeling good was something he needed in his life, something he had been missing for a very long time.

Even before the tragedy with Cassidy unfolded, his life had never been that spectacular. While Mac was right, that he had enough money he could do anything he wanted, have anything he wanted, go anywhere he wanted, the problem was it was all pretty empty when you were an empty person. The only thing that gave him joy was surfing; it had freed him from the coldness of his home since the first time he caught a wave. His absent mother; his asshole father and his string of barely-legal, gold-digging women who couldn't keep their hands off his friends; and his brother, who he had picked on mercilessly out of some desperate desire to connect with their father, but who had secretly disturbed him for years.

The only real friend, real brother, he had was Logan. Even when he pushed him away and was a total asshole to him, Logan stood by him. Sure, Logan had made his share of mistakes. A small part of him still resented Logan for not saving Cassidy, even if it was irrational to believe he could have. And an even smaller part was still irked by the thought of him sleeping with Madison, even though he couldn't even stand the sight of Madison anyway. But the bro code, right? He would never lay a hand on Ronnie (even if she didn't make his cock shrivel with her ice cold stare and the looming threat of her Taser). Maybe Parker… Logan had never loved Parker, but still, he'd totally make sure Logan was cool with it first.

Then there was Mac. He wasn't sure why she'd taken so much of his shit and managed to forgive him, but it really meant something that she hauled him out of the cemetery that night and let him crash at her place. She said nice things about his brother, and was kind to him, even though he'd been particularly cruel to her in the past. It was the most anyone had done since Cassidy died. No one ever expressed remorse that Cassidy was gone (not even Logan could manage it after all Cassidy had done to Veronica), just remorse that Dick was hurting, that Dick had suffered a loss. Sorry that Dick had a monster for a brother. That hardly made him feel better.

Mac had loved his brother, obviously still does, and he had loved her in his own twisted way. He wishes they could have had a chance. He used to have this dream that none of that stuff on graduation night ever happened. Dick never goes outside of the hotel to see the swarm of police and fire trucks, the remains of his brother staining the street. Instead, the two of them go surfing in the morning and Cassidy tells him he finally did it, he finally lost his virginity, and he's madly in love, tells him that's the girl he's going to marry. It fast-forwards to Cassidy's college graduation, where he pulls out a ring and proposes to Mac. They go on to do some hostile takeovers of Fortune 500 companies, and Mac pops out a bunch of little nieces and nephews for Dick to take surfing and buy them stuff that Mac and Beav don't want them to have. A real family. The kind that laughs and celebrates holidays together and loves you no matter what. He'd be a shit dad, but he thinks he'd have been a fantastic uncle. He'd have made up for his own shit parents in that way. Made up for being a shit brother.

A dream that can't come true.

Sometimes now, though, he has this dream where Mac is naked in his bed and begging him to fuck her, and then he happily obliges. That dream can't come true either.

He's not sure how to reconcile the two. He has to admit he dreams the second one a whole lot more these days.

In fact, that dream crossed his mind when she kissed him the night before. He tells himself he only kissed her back so as to not reject her advances on a day when she'd already been rejected by her boyfriend. He wouldn't have taken it any further, he thinks; he isn't a _complete_ asshole. But shit. _That kiss was hot_.

He had that dream again last night too.

She'd rejected him the two times he'd tried to kiss her. He can't say he blamed her; he was drunk off his ass both times. He couldn't really figure out why she'd kissed him last night though. Feeling rejected and insecure, probably. Obviously, she immediately regretted it, which is his only regret.

Regardless, she was his new roommate and he needed to behave himself. They were friends now. That was a big deal. He could count on one hand how many actual friends he had, not just people he played beer pong with and counted up points for Sex Quest, but people who cared about him and who he cared about in return. He didn't want to mess that up with meaningless sex.

Although, he honestly wasn't sure sex with Mac would be completely meaningless. Another reason to steer clear.

* * *

Mac found her new clothes to be oddly therapeutic. Although the staff at Kane Software didn't seem impressed (that group was much too serious to comment on something as mundane as an expensive new outfit), she felt oddly more confident. She was even brave enough to make comments on the new project in the morning staff meeting, something she was still too intimidated to do most times. Her comments were met positively. Maybe there was something to this whole "dress for success" thing. She finally felt like a grown-up, instead of a little girl.

She worked through lunch, only occasionally nibbling on some dried fruit and nuts she kept in stock in her desk, and by the time she got off work, she was famished. She texted Dick just before she left the office to ask if he wanted to do dinner after she picked up the stuff from Max.

He texted back: "I already picked up your stuff. All at home."

She reread the message just to make sure. "Seriously?"

"Yep."

"Thanks."

"UR welcome."

"I still need to drop off the key, though."

"No you don't. Fuck that guy."

_Okay, then_. "Dinner?"

"Sure, thai?"

Thai it was. She picked up dinner on her way home, no, back to the penthouse.

Sitting down on the couch and kicking off her heels felt heavenly. She opened up the paper carton of noodles and inhaled deeply. "Seriously, thanks for getting my stuff. The thought of going over there and facing either of them after yesterday…"

"Don't worry, that little twat won't be bothering you," Dick replied, shoveling noodles into his mouth.

"Uh oh. What did you do?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

"Told him I'd break him in half if he came around to the penthouse, begging you back."

She grinned. "You told him I was staying here."

"Yep. I told him to guess whose bed you were sleeping in," he shrugged. "Not my fault he guessed wrong."

She laughed. "Well, I doubt he's all that concerned with whose bed I'm in, all things considered."

"You'd be surprised. Even cheaters don't want to be so easily replaced."

"Especially by a pretty frat boy with a massive trust fund?" she mused.

"Exactly," he smiled, looking pleased with himself.

"So, what's your plan for tonight? Partying with the Pi Sigs?"

"Not exactly… actually, I was going to talk to you about that… how do you feel about… charity work?"

She smiled, amused. "I'm all for it. I didn't realize you were all that socially-conscious, however."

He rolled his eyes. "You know, everyone has the wrong idea about the Greeks. Oh, frat boys just drink and try to sleep with drunk sorority girls. That's totally not what it's about. It's a brotherhood, or sisterhood, devoted to community building, leadership and philanthropy."

Mac looked at him as though he'd just grown a second head, then burst out laughing.

"Okay, so there's a lot of drinking and hooking up. But that other stuff too!" he protested.

She stifled her laughter. "Anyway, so you were talking about charity work."

"Our philanthropy chair is doing a study abroad during this summer session, and there's this auction tomorrow night. Like a real auction, not one of those lame silent auctions. Anyway, since Dan isn't around, Chip was supposed to MC the auction. Dumbass texted me today and said he has strep, can't talk, and he won't even be able to help set up tomorrow."

"Oh, so, you need help setting up?"

"Yeah, I mean, I wasn't even planning on going to this thing. It wasn't my gig, I did the domestic violence shelter project in the Spring."

"You did what now?" Mac blinked.

"Yeah, it was our Spring semester project. We remodeled the domestic violence shelter. Pulled out some old cabinets, installed new ones, put in some new hardware, painted, that sort of thing. We even built a new deck out back, the old one was rotting, not really safe for the kids that go through. Did a fundraiser that bought a new playground set for the backyard."

She looked at him strangely. "That's… really cool."

"Yeah, we have to do so many hours of community service for sponsored projects."

"So, this auction is for…?"

"Local children's hospital. Kids with cancer."

"Wow."

"Yeah, our philanthropy mission is helping vulnerable women and children."

"How very chivalrous," she smiled.

"Hey, that's how Pi Sigs roll. We value women," he grinned.

"Yes, I've seen that in action," she rolled her eyes. "But the charity work is impressive."

"I'm glad you think so. Keep that thought in mind. Anyway, I have to do the setup for the auction tomorrow, meet up with the auctioneer, he's going to do that fast-talking auction thing. Cool right? Oh, and MC the damn thing."

"So, where do I fit in?" she asked with eyebrows raised.

"You help me set up, and then put on something hot, and be up on stage with me to show off the products."

She momentarily choked on her noodles. "I'm sorry, what now?"

He started to repeat it, very slowly, as though she were stupid. She rolled her eyes. "I'm stuck on the part where you want me to dress up like Vanna White. Isn't there a sorority girl with big boobs and bleached hair that would be better suited for this task?"

"Nope. Because you'll be up there explaining to me what half the shit actually is. Most of it's, like, stupid overpriced art that you can't even tell what the hell it is."

"Won't there be note cards?"

"Seriously? Would you trust me with this task alone? Reading off note cards? Hundreds of thousands of dollars of art is at stake here."

She cringed. "Okay, I'll help. But if I have to wear something formal that I'll never wear again, buddy, you're footing the bill."

"On it," he said, reaching for the hotel phone on the side table. He informed the concierge of his request and, again, thrust the phone at her. "Sizes," he said, shoveling in another mouthful of noodles.

An hour later, while they were sitting around playing video games, the concierge brought up a sales girl from Donatello's Boutique. The three women took the rack of dresses into the bedroom, and it took 45 minutes to select one, and then match with shoes and accessories.

"Dude, what took so long?" Dick complained, handing her a controller after the women left. He hadn't even asked what the dress and accessories cost; he had just handed the girl his credit card and went back to playing his game.

"Do you have any idea how much that stuff even cost?" she shook her head in disbelief.

"Do you have any idea how much I'm worth?" he replied in a bored tone.

She didn't, actually. She knew he had a sizable trust fund, had inherited Cassidy's trust, and had managed to retain most of the assets of Phoenix Land Trust as well. Even so, she can't even imagine a day when she would just not even ask what designer clothes cost and would blindly hand over her credit card.

"Anyway, thanks…" she mumbled, uncomfortable about the whole thing.

They played for another hour until Dick paused the game, yawning.

"Dude, it's like 10 o'clock on a Friday. Are you going to bed? Are you sick?" Mac asked.

"No, just thought I'd get some sleep. It's been a long day and you and me have work to do tomorrow. 7 am sharp!"

"What? I thought you said the auction wasn't until 7pm?" she whined.

"Yeah… there's that much to do," Dick sighed. "I really wish Greek life was just about being drunk and getting laid."

"Suddenly I do too!" Mac groaned.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: Again, thanks for the lovely comments! **

**I wasn't in a sorority myself, but I've had many positive interactions with Greeks, from my days in undergrad, to my current work in public interest law. Fraternities and sororities are, in fact, very devoted to community service (at least those I've encountered), and for local nonprofits, we know once we have the support of the Greek community, we can utilize student energy in a way that is truly impressive to fundraising and community development. For instance, for pediatric oncology, Greeks across the country raise money for their local children's hospitals through dance marathons, to the tune of millions of dollars annually for a single program. **

**It is unfortunate that the bad apples spoil the bunch. Too often the programs that get publicity are the ones behaving badly - hazing, racism and discrimination, sexual assault, and property damage, not to mention just general shallow and immature behavior. However, participation in fraternities and sororities can be a very positive experience for both the students and the community. They provide social and academic support for students while in college, and networking for alumni. It also lays the groundwork for future community engagement through other philanthropy organizations. **

**So, that is why I imagined that the Pi Sigs had something more to them than just drinking and hooking up. A group of wealthy young men has the ability to do some really great things, and to move Dick beyond the two dimensional character of the spoiled, but troubled, surfer dude, I felt his fraternity needed to give him something more than access to heavy drinking and partying.**

**Enjoy the auction!**

* * *

Saturday, July 28, 2007

As promised, Dick was up early and ready to go. He brought Mac's breakfast in again from room service, knocking softly on her door.

Seriously, it was going to be hard to go from living in the penthouse, back to campus housing. Or worse: her parents' house. But she'd enjoy it while it lasted. She was especially enjoying the sight of Dick Casablancas bringing in her breakfast tray, shirtless, his loose-fitting pajama bottoms hanging low on his hips. _Was he always this ripped?_ She should make a suggestion to campus housing that they add hot, shirtless delivery guys to the cafeteria staff. What a big improvement in quality of living that would make.

Of course, too groggy to care, she also hadn't bothered to cover herself when he'd knocked on the door and she told him to come in. The morning he had shown up at Max's apartment, she had been irritated by his obvious staring. This morning, however, she didn't move to cover herself up or glare at him as his eyes lingered a little too long on her breasts when he set the tray down on her lap. Instead, she found herself wondering what it would feel like to have his bare chest pressed against hers. A dangerous thought that she quickly pushed away as she ate her oatmeal.

Instead, she returned her thoughts to Max. She searched herself for any lingering depression over her breakup. She knew she should feel bad about losing him, but she found she didn't, not really. The more she thought about it, in fact, the more she realized she was relieved to be without him. She still felt awful being thrown over for a former hooker, of course, and essentially kicked out of what had been her home all summer. But she realized it was the circumstances of the breakup, and not the breakup itself, that hurt so badly.

No, the real problem was she was doubting her judgment again. She either put her trust in the wrong men, or she was overly-suspicious of every man's intentions. Early in the last academic year, when she'd been obsessing about unwanted male attention, she had been overcompensating for what happened with Cassidy. She cringed just thinking of how worried Wallace had been about her. He had made her go back to see her counselor in exchange for not telling Veronica about her bout of paranoia and anti-social behavior. She dutifully refilled her script for Xanax, saw her counselor twice, and hadn't been back since.

When she finally made her way back into the dating world, though, she thought she had moved on. Instead, she found she was just as clueless when it came to male intentions as she'd ever been.

Regardless, she didn't have time to wallow in self-pity, or even engage in much thoughtful introspection. She had made a commitment to Dick, and people were counting on both of them. She shook off the lingering depression, and got out of bed. She quickly showered and dressed, and followed Dick down to the lobby.

* * *

Fortunately, the fundraiser was at the Neptune Grand, so they didn't have to go far. But they did have to spend the entire day setting up the ballroom, organizing volunteers, greeting vendors, and handling the art dealer. She was surprised to find how good Dick was in handling all of the details. He had gotten this stuff dumped on him last minute, had known very little about the event before yesterday, and yet, he had everything under control. She was struggling to keep up with him.

They didn't even have time to eat lunch, but fortunately, there was a snack table provided for the volunteers that Mac would graze on whenever they passed by. She hadn't seen Dick eat anything though, and she noticed he was beginning to look stressed as he was sitting at a table reviewing the art descriptions. She made him a plate of cheese, fruit and crackers, and grabbed him a bottle of water.

"Hey, everything okay?" she asked, setting the plate and bottle in front of him.

He muttered thanks and then shrugged. "Just hoping to not screw this up."

"You'll do great. You've done an amazing job here today. I bet a helluva lot better than Chip would have. Every problem that came up, you had an immediate solution."

"If there's one thing I'm good at, it's throwing a party. But talking about art? No way I'm pulling this off," he replied, looking despondent, rubbing at his right shoulder in frustration and obvious discomfort.

She stood behind him and began massaging his shoulders. He felt very tense. "Don't stress. Let's run through it, okay? Tell me about the first piece."

He hesitated and began to read the description in the brochure.

She stopped him. "Okay, let's assume the audience can read that themselves. Let's add something to what they already know about the pieces. Start with the name of the piece, and the artist, and let's go from there."

They spent the next hour working on script cards to introduce the pieces, and once finished, Mac went upstairs to type them up and print them out, highlighting them for cues, and numbering the pieces on the cards.

They did a practice run, and she thought Dick sounded like… well… like someone who knew something about art. She just hoped she could be as convincing in her role as "eye-candy."

* * *

At 4:30, Mac headed to the salon to have her hair, make-up and nails done, something the concierge had insisted upon. This she also happily charged to Dick's credit card, along with a generous tip.

She was still in the chair having her hair curled, sprayed, and pinned, when a pretty blond stood in front of her, squinting at her as though she didn't quite recognize her.

"Mac?" the girl asked, finally.

"Yeah, I'm in here somewhere," she winced as a bobby pin jabbed her in the scalp.

She laughed. "Aw! You look gorgeous though! I assume you're going to the auction tonight?" she asked. Mac was having trouble placing her.

"I am. I got roped into it by a friend. How about you?"

The girl nodded. "I figured when Dick broke up with Taylor, he'd ask you. I'm glad you'll be there, though! You might not know, but Scott and I are dating now, and he's been doing his clinical hours in pediatric oncology. So, we pretty much had to be there tonight. He wants to work there after graduation."

Mac searched her brain. Scott? Clinicals? _Oh!_ _Scott is the Pi Sig who's the social work major. _

"That's awesome. How about you? Will you be writing about the event for the paper?" she asked, finally remembering the girl from last month's party. _The journalism major._ _Emma. Or is it Emily? _ _Maybe it's Ella._

"Definitely. I'll have my camera too, come find me and I'll take some nice photos of you and your man," she said, happily.

Mac was about to correct her that Dick was not "her man," but was interrupted by one of the stylists.

"Hi, Emma! Come on back, let's get you in the chair," the woman said, leading her away.

_Emma_, Mac committed to memory.

What she was confused about though is why Emma would have "figured" Dick would ask her to be at the auction, when he broke up with Taylor. She supposes if Taylor had still been around, she would have been much better suited for being the event hostess. Taylor was pretty, sure, but she was also smart and socially savvy. But it seemed to Mac that Emma would have been a better choice for helping Dick with the event. Her boyfriend even has a stake in its success. So, why was she the one being made-up and stuffed into an evening gown? To mingle with Neptune's wealthiest?

Suddenly, she was just as nervous as Dick had been all day.

* * *

At 6:30, it was getting close to show time, and she went upstairs to the penthouse to change. She found Dick was half-way dressed and pacing the floor, with a glass of Scotch in his hand.

"Hey. What's wrong?" she asked, gently taking the glass from him. She finished it with a swig and placed it on the table. It burned, but she figured it might help calm her nerves.

"My dad called. He wanted to see me tonight since he'll already be at the hotel."

"Oh no," she said, after the moment sunk in. His dad was attending the fundraiser.

"Oh yeah," he said, looking pale. She just hoped he hadn't drunk too much before she got there. The last think he needed was to be intoxicated.

"Okay, don't sweat it. You don't even have to talk to him. You'll be too busy. And I'll be on your arm the whole night, okay? I won't leave your side," she said, looking up into his wide blue eyes. "We've got this. You and me. It's going to be fine."

He nodded and took a breath. She stood in front of him and started buttoning his tuxedo shirt. He looked at her puzzled. Women normally undress him, not dress him. She took the cufflinks out of his hand and fastened them. "There," she said, firmly. "I'm going to go get changed. You are going to get through tonight just fine, and afterwards, we will play video games and drink beer until we pass out. Okay?"

He nodded.

He watched her disappear into her room, and tucked his shirt into his pants, then tied the bow tie. He slipped on the jacket and brushed the lint off the sleeves. He took a few deep breaths, thinking another few glasses of Scotch would calm his nerves.

He was about to pour one when Mac emerged from the room wearing a stunning cream-colored dress, fitted around her slender waist. It was tea-length and sleeveless, with a plunging neckline and a flared skirt. She had on matching heels that gave her an extra 3 or 4 inches of height. She looked… incredible.

But telling her so would be too honest. Instead, Dick whistled and made an inappropriate sexual comment, and led her out of the penthouse quickly, before he said, or did, anything he might regret.

* * *

The event was a whirlwind, and Mac had been right; they were far too busy to even glance at the elder Casablancas. Between greeting VIP guests, conversing with the artists, and last-minute directions from the auctioneer, they were too busy to even nibble on the expanse of gourmet food, much to Mac's disappointment.

The event was a great success, Mac thought. Most of the auctioned items went for far more than was anticipated, and every item sold at least at its appraised value. Even the ones Mac thought were the most hideous pieces she'd ever seen.

Even so, she actually trembled when Dick announced that the event had raised a total of $7 million for the children's hospital, shaking hands with the pediatrics department chair, and smiling for the cameras. She couldn't believe it. This group of spoiled, useless rich boys had done more good in a few hours than she will likely ever do in her lifetime. The power of wealth and prestige.

Then she remembered, with a small bit of pride, that she helped do that too. That the Pi Sigs' philanthropy chair had opted to spend his summer in Europe, and Chip was too stupid to go to the doctor a week ago when he first got strep, so that the event fell into the lap of her new roommate, Dick Casablancas. Who couldn't have done it without her, he had said repeatedly afterwards.

She had tried to stay back out of the publicity photos, but the photographers kept insisting, and there she was, in each photo, with Dick's arm around her, his hand gripping her waist. Until all she could see was the flash of cameras. She blinked away the lights and grabbed for Dick's arm, trying to steady herself. The same way he felt about seeing his dad there, was the same way she felt about having the press shoving cameras in her face: terrified of what feelings it might bring up from last summer.

"Hey, Mac!" she heard a familiar cheery voice break through the chaos. It was Emma. "Can I get a few pictures and maybe a few quotes from you and Dick for my article?" she asked, moving past the rest of the press who'd had enough, and spiriting Mac away from them.

"Me?" she asked. "Oh, you should talk to Dick, instead." Dick had stepped away to talk to the pediatrics department chair, introducing him to Scott.

"Nonsense, you're the lady of the hour! Give me something quotable."

"Um, okay. Well. I'm really proud of the work that the Pi Sigs have done here tonight, especially Dick. You know Chip was supposed to be here, right? He's really sick, he ended up in the ER yesterday. So, Dick stepped up to take over the event with less than 24 hours notice. He did an amazing job."

"Oh, wow, I didn't know that. I was surprised when I saw Dick instead of Chip. I just assumed you and Dick were attending as guests until you both got up on stage. I thought maybe I misunderstood. Dick does great work though. I was out at the rededication ceremony for the Neptune Domestic Violence Program a few months ago. I didn't use the pictures in the print article, but I have some great ones of Dick playing with the kids on the new playground they got. I'll have to send them to you!" she smiled. "That's the first time I met Scott, actually, at that event, and then met him again at Dick's party last month. Whoever would've thought a Pi Sig makes such a great boyfriend!"

Mac laughed. "Keep it off the record, but I didn't realize myself until recently that there was anything more to these guys than getting drunk and hooking up."

Dick slipped an arm around Mac's waist, and laughed into her hair. "There isn't usually, but we have our occasional moments."

She smiled up at him. She saw the flash of Emma's camera in the corner of her eye.

"Aw! Perfect shot! Well, we should be going, Mac. Sorry we didn't get to spend more time with you guys. You two were so busy!"

"Great job, Dick. Thanks for filling in for Chip. There's no way I could've pulled this off like you did," Scott said, giving him the bro hug. "See you later, Mac. You look beautiful, by the way."

"He's right. You do," Dick said, after they walked away. Mac smiled up at him.

"I like them, they're nice," Mac said, watching Scott and Emma walk out holding hands.

"We should do the double date thing sometime then," Dick said nonchalantly. _Date?_ she thought.

Before she could inquire further, they made their way through the crowd to say farewell to the important players, and direct the volunteers in clean-up and break-down.

* * *

By the end of the night, Mac's feet ached, and with the last guest gone, she kicked off her heels with a groan as they left the ballroom. Finally finished, they made their way to the elevator.

"Dick," they heard, as a hand held the elevator open.

Mac saw Dick flinch in response. His dad.

"You did a great job out there tonight, Son," he said, stepping onto the elevator. "You too, Cindy."

It was her turn to flinch. _Cindy_. Only Cassidy had ever called her that.

"I didn't realize you two were dating," he continued.

"We're not," they both said in unison.

"Oh," was all he said in a tone that suggested he knew something they didn't.

"Sorry I didn't get a chance to talk to you tonight," Dick finally said as the elevator reached the penthouse. "Too much to do."

"I understand. I'll call you tomorrow, we can have lunch. Maybe you'd like to join us, Cindy?"

She looked up at Dick for guidance, but he was busy examining his right cuff link.

"Yeah, sure, Dick can just let me know when and where," she said, finally, not able to think of any way out of it.

"See you later," Mac said, as Dick Senior left the elevator.

She waited for the doors to close before groaning, "You couldn't think of an excuse?"

"You didn't either!" he accused, pouting.

"Well, we have less than 12 hours to think of one," she said, as they exited the elevator and waited for Dick to swipe his hotel key card.

They entered the penthouse, and it was dimly-lit. Housekeeping must have done turn-down service, but she noticed an addition – a dinner tray.

"Oh, thank God, I'm starving!" she sighed, tossing aside her heels and heading towards the food. It was a delicious platter of vegan delicacies.

"I figured you might be. You were eyeing the food, but you never ate any. I made sure it was up here waiting. And…" Dick said, pulling out a case of beer. "Ta da! I had them swipe this from the bar too."

As promised, they spent the remainder of the night drinking beer and playing video games in their formal attire; a perfect end to an amazing night.

Before she fell asleep, her last thought was how strange it was that one of the worst weeks could result in one of the best nights.


	10. Chapter 10

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Mac awoke to her face pressed up against the bare chest of Dick Casablancas. The discovery almost made her fall off the couch.

At some point during the night, they must have both fallen asleep. The game was paused, there were empty beer bottles everywhere. Dick had taken off his jacket and unbuttoned his tuxedo shirt. Mac was still wearing her dress.

She was certain nothing inappropriate had occurred, other than the snuggling. She had slept on the couch, in Dick's arms. Practically on top of him, actually. On top of Dick's strong, bare chest… and those abs…

She quickly slipped into her room and hung up the now-wrinkled dress, then headed into the shower, as cold as she could stand it.

It was getting less weird to shower at the Neptune Grand, but she still made certain she had clothes with her in the bathroom. Not that she thought Dick would ever do what his brother had. But she had trusted two men who betrayed her, in some of the worst ways possible. She spent her entire childhood being lied to by her parents. It takes its toll. She wants desperately to be able to trust people, in fact, she craves it, but she's terrified by it at the same time she's drawn to him. Drawn to _it_. No, she's not drawn to _him_. She was attracted to Dick yes, but physically speaking, you'd have to be blind to not find him insanely attractive.

Just after she'd gotten dressed, she heard voices in the living room. The elder Casablancas had arrived.

When she left Logan's bedroom, she wasn't surprised to find them both drinking Scotch. Dick still hadn't dressed, but his dad looked as though he was dressed for an afternoon at the country club. She soon realized that's exactly where they would be going. She sighed, and returned to her room to change out of the t-shirt, jeans and Chucks she'd put on.

While Dick showered, she tried to make polite conversation with his dad. She found out that he'd basically escaped any real sentence for his crimes, he was on probation, and he was rebuilding his empire. She realized halfway into the conversation that he was probably looking for Dick to invest with him, since Dick had full control over his inheritance from Cassidy. She wondered, briefly, how it must feel to have parents who have no interest in you as their child, but only as a means to rebuild their wealth.

Mac continued to reflect on that while they had brunch at the country club – a place Mac had never been to before, and felt rather uncomfortable in. She recognized several people from both high school and college, and supposed they recognized her as well – acknowledging it with looks of surprise and some even disgust. _Yes, they let just anyone into the club these days, even the poor kids_, she thought, as she smiled widely at none other than Madison Sinclair, whose black eye was still deliciously visible despite her attempts at concealer, even after all this time. Madison looked at her, horrified, and stormed off. _Huh, I guess I really am the riff-raff._

Even so, Mac sipped her coffee and listened politely as Mr. Casablancas described how "fool-proof" his new business venture was. What she was surprised about was Dick's level of involvement in the conversation. She had expected him to either just write a check and be done with it, or to be hostile and rude. Instead, Dick was critical, evaluating the business plan, and demanding full disclosure of all financials, including running background on the other investors. He was no fool; he'd proven it several times this summer. She was impressed how he handled himself.

After lunch, his father's car arrived first from the valet. They said a cordial goodbye, and his dad drove away. Dick stood stoically, watching him go.

"You okay?" Mac asked gently.

Dick just shrugged.

"You did well today, I'm proud of you," she said.

He looked at her curiously, and seemed about to say something, when his car arrived.

"Come on, let's go home," he said, as he dutifully opened the door for her, tipped the valet, and slid into the driver's seat.

_Home_.

* * *

Later that afternoon, they had just finished studying for Dick's impending Calculus II class, and were winding down with some MarioKart. However, they didn't even have a chance to play more than 10 minutes before there was knocking on the door.

"Expecting someone?" Mac asked.

"Nope. But I hope she's hot," Dick replied.

He opened the door. "Nope," Dick called back to her. "Someone cold."

"Shut up, Dick," Madison fumed, slamming the door behind her.

"I didn't invite you in," he scowled.

"I'm not here to see you, stupid. I'm here to see Logan, where is he?"

"Not here. He heard you were coming and left the country."

"When will he be back?" she demanded.

"Sorry, he's with Ronnie. You might want to stay away, unless you want another shiner there, champ," he sniggered at her.

She rolled her eyes then walked further into the suite, obviously not believing him that Logan wasn't there.

"Cindy _Mackenzie_," she stated, coldly, almost accusingly, emphasizing her last name. Mac wasn't aware she even knew her name.

"Madison _Sinclair_," she replied, mocking her tone.

"I see, so you couldn't have my life, so you're here trying to get with my idiot ex-boyfriend? You think that will make you a 'Sinclair'? I don't think so," Madison scowled at her. Mac flushed with panic.

"So, you do fucking know, don't you?" Madison continued before Mac could interject, her hands on her hips. "That's why you and Veronica were lurking around my house that one time in high school, you hanging around _my_ little sister."

"What are you talking about?" Mac asked, but it was a question she already knew the answer to.

"Don't play coy. Look, I don't know what scam you were trying to pull, but obviously it didn't work. What happened, happened, and _my_ parents kept me, and gave me everything I ever wanted, so I don't need _you_ coming around with your low-class parents, okay? I don't care if we went home with the wrong families, but you aren't getting mine."

Mac looked down at her lap. She could say a hundred horrible things to crush Madison. But she knew how she felt. She was lost, angry, and betrayed, feeling like her whole life was a lie.

"How did you find out? Did your parents, the Sinclairs… did they tell you? Why now?" she asked, in a smaller voice than she meant to.

That seemed to take the steam out of Madison's fuming. "Yes, they told me last month. We had a big fight after your stupid friend Veronica attacked me and I had to spend an hour locked in a prison cell. A week later, they decided to confess everything."

Mac nodded. "It's nice that they told you the truth."

Madison frowned at her statement. "Why? How did you find out?"

"I found out junior year of high school. I always suspected I was adopted, and I was close, I guess. My parents, the Mackenzies, I mean, don't know I found out. Your mom, though, she figured it out that day when I was over. I guess I kinda look like her. Your little sister, too."

Dick hadn't said a word, just stood there, soaking in the exchange with a look of bewilderment.

Madison decided she had enough. "Dick, tell Logan to call me immediately."

She stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

"Care to let me in on the big family secret?" Dick asked.

"Yeah… I was switched at birth with Madison," she shrugged, starting the game again.

"I caught that much. But details?"

"You probably don't know this, but we have pretty much the same birthday. Well, same hospital, all newborns look alike, I guess, and oops, I ended up with the wrong parents. I was supposed to be Madison Sinclair, not Cindy Mackenzie. But fate and medical negligence decided otherwise. By the time it was discovered, we were too old to switch back. Both of our families got some money, just the Sinclairs invested better, thus the zip code difference. The rest is history. In the meantime, I guess I need to tell my folks I know, before Madison goes storming in for a family reunion," she sighed and rolled her eyes. "I still need to tell them I broke up with Max and I'm living here."

Dick just sat there silently for a moment as he crossed the finish line, and then said, gravely, "Shit, Cindy, you are just full of drama."

She took one look at him and started laughing.

He gasped and paused the game again, "We would have dated!"

"No, we wouldn't have," she smirked.

"We totally would have. You would have been a hot '09er, and we would have totally hooked up," he grinned.

"Uh, first, even if I had been an '09er, I would have still been a huge nerd, and you wouldn't have looked twice at me. And, second, unlike the more refined gentleman you are now," she grinned wickedly, "you were a complete jackass in high school!"

"What? I was awesome even then," he feigned offense.

"Yeah… no…" she said.

"Well, okay, so you were an awkward nerd and I was an obnoxious jerk. I guess a different zip code wouldn't have changed either of us," he said thoughtfully.

She shrugged. "Well, we'll never know. We are who we are. I mean, maybe I would have been happier as Madison Sinclair. Been raised by parents who got me, instead of parents who were totally confused by me, and still are. But how much of who I am is because I felt out of place? Isolated? I dunno, but I like the path I'm on. My career, my friends. Even the stuff with Max can't spoil that, not really. I mean, it sucks, and I still kinda feel like shit right now, the whole boyfriend cheated on me with a hooker thing, but hopefully the feeling of rejection won't last long."

"It won't. At least it doesn't for me," he grinned.

"Have you ever had your heart broken?" she asked suddenly.

He shrugged. "Just Madison, I guess."

"Can I ask you something, and it not be meant in a catty way at all? What did you see in her? Does she have good qualities?"

"Uh, she's hot, that was probably the main thing. And popular. I guess that was the initial attraction. Good qualities… she's a total bitch, yes. But she's good to the people she cares about. Generous, even. She was really protective of Lilly Kane, and that's why she hates Ronnie so much, jealous she was such good friends with Lilly, you know? Then the whole accusing the Kanes of covering up Lilly's murder… that obviously didn't go over well with the '09er crowd."

"Yeah, as I remember, you were pretty shitty to Veronica too," she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Yeah, yeah, it was completely undeserved, and Ronnie is such a delicate flower unable to stand up for herself," he smirked.

She smiled. "Seriously, though, about Madison. She's my parents' biological daughter. My little brother is really her little brother. Would she have fit in with my family, her biological family?"

"Maybe, if she didn't have money. She's the way she is because her parents, I guess your parents, weird… gave her everything she could ever ask for. It's strange, because they're actually pretty strict with her, er, your, little sister, they make her study nonstop, and would never let her wear the stuff that Madison wore when she was her age. I always thought maybe they learned their lesson with Madison, like, crap, it's too late with her, but we have a second chance, let's not screw it up! But I guess it makes more sense now, they knew she wasn't really theirs so they were trying to make up for it. Makes sense, because that's what my parents did. They let Beav and I do whatever the fuck we wanted to, because they knew they were shitty parents, and the only thing they could do to make up for it was give us unlimited spending power."

Mac frowned. "So, nurture, not nature, then?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Dick shrugged.

Mac looked at her watch. "Well, it's almost 3 o'clock. I think I'm going to go bite the bullet with my parents. I've got two bombshells to drop tonight. I might just crash there."

"Okay, but if it all goes south, you know where to find me."

"Yeah, it's a possibility," she groaned, putting her shoes on.

"Hey, listen, Mac…" he said, running a hand through his hair absent-mindedly. "Thanks again for everything this weekend, seriously."

"No, I enjoyed it, really. Last night was incredible. What you guys did for those kids, what _you_ did… well, it really made me rethink my opinion of Greek life. And as for today, well, I'm not sure I quite fit in at the country club, but it was still a nice lunch. You did really well with your dad, you should be proud of yourself," she smiled, as she grabbed her purse. "I'm proud of you."

With that, Mac left the penthouse to face her parents.

* * *

"Sweetheart!" her mom exclaimed as she walked through the door. "I was just about to call you. We saw your picture in the paper."

"You did?" Mac looked confused.

"Yeah, the charity auction you were at last night? It made front page news!"

"Front page? Let me see that!" Mac said, grabbing the paper. "Oh my god!"

"When were you going to tell me that you broke up with Max? And that you're dating Dick Casablancas?" her mother asked, accusingly.

"What? How did you…? Wait, I'm not dating Dick," she said, spotting the caption under the photo of her, Dick and the CEO of the children's hospital. _Dick Casablancas, with girlfriend Cindy Mackenzie_. "Oh, shit."

"Language, Daughter," her dad said, entering the room.

"Sorry… it's just… ugh, I'm not dating Dick."

"Oh, so you're still with Max," her mother nodded.

"Well, no, actually…" she shifted, uncomfortably.

"Oh, sweetheart, what happened?"

Mac took a deep breath. She'd cried enough, she didn't need to cry again. "I moved out a couple days ago. It just wasn't working."

"I'm so sorry," her mom said, putting an arm around her.

"Well, where are you living then?" her dad asked, frowning. "You didn't turn up here, and Parker's gone for the summer. Are you staying with Veronica?"

"No, actually…" she glanced down at the photo. It was a really nice photo, she barely even recognized herself, she looked so sophisticated. "I'm staying in the penthouse at the Grand."

"With two boys?" her dad said, obviously not pleased.

"Not exactly. Logan's in Mexico with Veronica on a case. So, Dick said I could stay in his room, Logan's room, until he gets back."

"I'm not sure I approve of your choice of roommates," he replied. "But you're a grown woman, you can make your own choices."

She smiled, relieved he wasn't going to give her more grief.

"Well, Dick certainly has changed a lot," her mother commented. "I had no idea the two of you were involved in charity work for the hospital."

"It was a really last-minute thing. Dick's fraternity runs this auction to benefit pediatric oncology, and his frat brothers who were supposed to be running it couldn't be there. And since I'm hanging around the penthouse, Dick enlisted me to help. Oh, Mom, it was fantastic. We raised seven million dollars last night for the hospital!"

"That is wonderful," her mom smiled, hugging her again. "And you looked so beautiful! I wish I could have seen you in person!"

"I would have dropped by if there had been time! We'd been working since 7am, and I barely had time to get ready myself! But it was so amazing…" Mac continued telling her parents all about the event, finally getting to the part where Dick's dad showed up.

"So, we went to brunch with him today at the country club. And while we were there… I saw Madison Sinclair. You remember her, right?"

Her parents nodded their heads, although she noticed her dad looked away.

"She came by the penthouse earlier today, stormed in, looking for Logan for some reason. I'm sure Veronica will be thrilled to hear that," she cringed. Maybe she'll keep that information to herself.

"Anyway, her and Veronica got into this fight a couple weeks ago, I guess, and it prompted an honest discussion between her and her parents…"

"Oh?" her mother asked, paling slightly.

"And it made me realize I needed to clear the air with you guys." She took a deep breath and continued. "Mom, Dad… I know."

"You know what?" her dad asked.

"I know that I'm not your biological daughter. That Madison is. And I want you to know that it's okay."

They both sat stunned.

Finally, her mother spoke, "You… you know?"

She nodded. "I guess I always knew, deep down. I always thought I was adopted though. I didn't know what actually happened until junior year of high school, when I asked Veronica to investigate. That's when she found the lawsuit against the hospital, and we pieced it together."

Her mother's eyes filled with tears.

"Mom, it's okay. It doesn't matter. Look, I admit, I did the thing where I went and scoped out the bio family. But in the end, they aren't my family, they aren't my parents. You guys are."

Her dad started laughing, and hugged her tight. Her mom joined in, wiping away her tears and laughing too.

* * *

It was almost 10 o'clock by the time Mac left her parents' house. She felt oddly liberated, and she couldn't stop smiling. A conversation with her parents that she thought would be awful had been anything but. In fact, she felt better than she had in at least a year.

When she returned to the penthouse, she found Dick on the couch playing Halo. She grabbed two beers out of the fridge and grabbed a controller.

"So? How'd it go?" he asked.

"Well, much better than I expected, and actually pretty amazing. They were cool about the breakup with Max and me staying here, no lectures, and they didn't freak when I told them that both Madison and I know about the switch."

"That's great," he grinned at her. "A very successful weekend for everyone."

"Also, you should know we're dating."

"Dude, we're what?" he said, blasting at the enemy while taking a swig of beer.

"It was in the paper today," she grinned, noticing his face flush.

"Ah. Then it must be true," he said, getting killed and throwing down the controller with a, "Well, shit."

He drained his beer. "Well, I'm cool with it. Just don't tell Ronnie, she'll tase me in the Little Dick."

She snorted.

"Come on," he said suddenly, as though he'd made an important decision. "Let's go down to the beach for a swim. I've been cooped up in this stupid hotel all weekend. Come with me?"

"Okay, but not too late, I have to work in the morning," she said, taking her beer into the bedroom to look for her swim suit.

Her stuff was still mostly in boxes, since she saw no point in unpacking to stay somewhere for only a couple weeks. She grabbed the first suit she could find, a two-piece tankini, and pulled her jeans and t-shirt back on over it. She put two large hotel towels into her beach bag, and they headed down to the beach.

Normally she wasn't much for the beach, because of the sun, and the burning, and the skin cancer. But at night, it was simply majestic. She really could get used to living in the penthouse; just walking out to the beach at night was definitely a lifestyle she would adopt.

She spread a towel out onto the sand, and pulled off her clothes. Even though it was dark, she felt Dick's eyes on her. She felt slightly self-conscious until he discarded his shirt and led her into the water. She shrieked as the cool water hit her legs, but followed suit as Dick jumped in.

She was enjoying the water, but after a few minutes, she realized she couldn't see Dick, and she began to get nervous. "Dick?" she called. "Where are you?"

She looked around and didn't see him, and while she wasn't paying attention a large wave knocked her under water from behind. Sputtering, she came back up and felt arms grab hold of her.

"Careful there, don't turn your back on the wave," Dick said into her hair.

She wasn't sure if the shivers were from the cool water or from being pressed up against him. When she pulled away and turned to face him, she knew the answer.

* * *

**Sorry to end the chapter on a cliff-hanger, but it needed to be split into two chapters!**

**The second half will post within the week.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Warning: Depictions of sexual activity ahead. It's rated M, remember?  
**

* * *

Sunday, July 29, 2007 (cont'd)

Dick grabbed Mac around the waist and pulled her to him, pressing his lips to hers. She moaned into his mouth and he deepened the kiss. She felt waves hit her in the waist-deep water, but Dick had a strong enough grip on her that she didn't move.

Finally, he broke the kiss. "You didn't push me away this time."

Her breathing heavy, she replied, "No, I didn't."

His grip on her was still tight, as though she might slip away from him and float away into the ocean. He kissed her again, slower this time before pulling away again.

"You're shivering. Is the water too cold?" he asked.

_It's not the water_, she thought. "Yeah, I'm a little cold."

"Come on," he said, grabbing her hand and leading her out of the water.

Even in the moonlight, Mac couldn't tell where they were, but Dick knew exactly. Years of surfing gave him a good sense of direction on the empty beach. They reached their towels and Mac wrapped herself in one, still shivering. She couldn't help it; the sight of Dick's bare chest in the moonlight made her embarrassingly breathless. She realized how much she wanted him, and further realized that the thought didn't make her want to run away.

After he toweled off, smug in feeling her eying him hungrily the entire time, he sat next to her on the blanket and pulled her closer to him. This time, she kissed him. The taste of him was intoxicating. Kissing her wasn't like it had been in the past; alcohol-fueled, grief-driven, a meaningless escape for one of them. He felt a momentary panic at the realization that this meant something, but only a moment. The panic was quelled by the pleasure of her tongue in his mouth, and the feel of her hands in his hair, the weight of her on his lap.

The kissing only served to make her want more. Eventually, they laid down on the towels, kissing, touching one another, beginning to explore one another's bodies. She felt hot, feverish with lust. She was out of her own body, like it must be someone else here, making out with Dick on a beach, with Dick's hands rubbing her through her swimsuit, making her throbbing and wet. It must be someone else's hands unlacing his swim trunks and pulling them down, clutching his hard cock. He moaned into her breasts as she stroked him, licking and sucking on her skin as he pulled aside her swim top, placing his mouth on her nipple.

"I need you inside of me, Dick. Please," she moaned.

It was quick, but who was he to argue. He pulled off her bikini bottom and spreading her legs, he was about to enter her.

"Oh no. Dick wait!" she sat up, alarmed.

He stopped. "What's wrong?" he asked, disappointment apparent in his eyes.

"We need a condom," she said, flustered. "Sorry, I… I went to get tested on Friday, you know, the whole boyfriend cheating on me with a hooker thing, but the results won't be in until this week, also I have to be retested in six months anyway, so I can't even be sure… I mean, I'd always been safe, with him, you know, but… you couldn't be sure that I'm not… it would be really irresponsible to put you at risk when I don't know…"

He nodded, and kissed her softly. "Yeah, you're right, we need to be safe."

She smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. It's cool you're thinking of me," he said, kissing her again and moving back down to her breasts.

"You do have condoms, though, right?" she asked. He looked up at her with raised eyebrows, from where he was kissing her breasts.

"Sorry, dumb question," she laughed.

She felt amazing under his touch. The sounds she made as he touched her, the heavy breaths, it was intoxicating. They continued kissing in the moonlight.

* * *

Eventually they went back to the penthouse. In the light of the elevator, Mac glanced up at him, suddenly shy, her cheeks flushed. He leaned down to kiss her in response.

When they reached the penthouse, he closed the door behind him and immediately grabbed her, kissing her again with purpose. "Where were we?" he asked. She answered by untying his swim trunks for the second time that evening.

"I don't want you to sleep in Logan's bed tonight," he said, kissing her neck.

"No, I don't want to either," she said. They were naked by the time they reached his bedroom.

"We'll get sand all over your bed," Mac pointed out.

"If sand bothers you, then let's start in the shower," Dick said, kissing her again.

Fortunately, the penthouse came equipped with a garden tub, and plenty of room to maneuver. She assumed they would just rinse off, however, instead of heading straight into the bedroom, she was surprised by Dick filling the tub with water and bath bubbles. She had never considered Dick Casablancas to be one for a lot of foreplay, and yet she found herself being kissed softly, as he took the opportunity to patiently explore her body. She'd never done anything so… sensuous before. First the beach, then the bathtub. It was adventurous and exciting, and she couldn't help but want more.

Eventually, they were too pruny to stay in the water, and both were getting impatient for one another, so they dried off and climbed into Dick's bed. Fortunately, Dick was always prepared, and had a ready supply of condoms on hand.

With the past half hour of foreplay, they were both eager. Even with a condom on, she felt amazing as he pushed inside of her. It was the first time he could remember feeling like sex could mean something more than just physical pleasure. It was slightly terrifying, but exhilarating at the same time. He looked down at her flushed cheeks, her eyes heavy with lust, and remembered the dream he kept having.

He whispered in her ear that he wants to know how badly she wants this, wants him, as he moved slowly in and out of her, feeling her need build. Soon she was moaning, "Please, Dick… please, I need you…" and his dream came true.

* * *

Mac rested her still-damp hair on Dick's chest and as they lay there, wrapped in one another, she felt his breathing turn even.

_What have we done?_ Mac thought. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were just getting their friendship off the ground, and now they're sleeping together.

_It's a rebound thing_, she realized. Dick's girlfriend just left for Stanford, and she just broke up with Max, and they've both got parent issues going on, and all of their other friends are away. They needed this, to find comfort together. That's all it is. She just hoped it wouldn't make their friendship weird now that they've hooked up.

As she ran her hand over his chest, she had to admit, she wouldn't mind this to be more than one night. She'd never had sex like that before. With Max it was always a little awkward, with a great deal of fumbling, and not very graceful. Dick was strong and nimble, and knew exactly where to touch her to light her on fire. Just kissing him made her wet. Actually just lying naked in bed next to him made her wet.

She began stroking his chest and down his abdomen, and she felt his heartbeat quicken in his chest. She noticed his growing erection, and she slipped under the covers to place her lips on his cock, the same cock that had been inside her twice this evening. God, she'd never been so turned on by giving head.

Dick's hands tangled into her hair, and he moaned her name. He looked down at her and thought he'd never seen a more beautiful sight than Cindy Mackenzie's lips on his cock. He hoped she'll do this every night. Maybe she'd let him take a picture, so he could remember how she looked at the very moment, when he had to go all day without her tomorrow. _It will be an eternity until she gets home from work…_

"Oh, fuck," he shuddered, as he finished in her mouth. He watched with fascination as she licked him clean. _Holy shit._ He was pretty sure he was falling in love.

"Come here," he said in a low growl, grabbing her breasts and kissing her hard. He rubbed her clit, finding her wet again. He rolled her over onto her back, and pressed his face into her breasts. He licked and nipped his way down, until he buried his face between her legs, discovering how fantastic she tastes. Even once she had orgasmed, he didn't stop; he continued to pleasure her until he was ready again.

When he entered her for the last time, it was slow and deliberate, and he kissed her with meaning. He loved her, he was certain of it. He almost told her so, as he was pulling in and out of her slowly, but he chickened out. When they finished, they almost immediately fell asleep.

He had a different dream that night. He dreamed they had a home together, on the beach, a normal life together, and that for once in his life, he was happy.


	12. Chapter 12

**Back after a hiatus. Thought I'd leave you with a happy chapter. Now for the angst...**

Monday, July 30, 2007

When Dick woke up, the bed felt empty. He realized Mac was gone.

He glanced at the clock, and it was 10am. She'd already left for work hours ago.

He wished she'd woken him up for some morning sex. God, that would be hot. He'd never done that before. He never stuck around that long. But with Mac… he wanted to spend the whole day in bed with her. Every day.

He decided instead that he would take her to dinner that night. He didn't want her to think he was only interested in sex. He decided to call in a favor with a frat brother and get a table at the new French restaurant. He wanted to impress her. He'd never cared enough about any girl to do that before. But she's different.

Mac was delightfully sore and incredibly satisfied. Three times, four orgasms. She didn't even think it was possible. Even when she first started dating Max, the most they'd managed in a day was twice.

She needed to stop thinking about it though. It was distracting her from her work. And she needed to keep a clear head.

She knew this thing wasn't real. _It's just rebounding, just a one night thing. Dick even said that, didn't he?_ He didn't want her to sleep in Logan's bed _tonight_. It's not like he said he didn't want her to sleep there ever again. And once classes start back, he'll be back at the frat house, she'll be back in the dorms, and their lives won't intersect very much.

Even so… damn. It would be so easy. She'd been extremely tempted to call in sick, and stay in bed with Dick all day. Leaving his bed was extremely hard. But she had to. If she stayed, that wouldn't be a one night stand, it would be a fling. That would be an affair. That would be… real. She can't think that way.

But it didn't matter. She had gotten a call that morning from campus housing that a room was open early, and she could move in tomorrow. She had texted Parker, who was coming back this week, to let her know she could get away from her parents sooner, rather than later.

She wasn't as excited as she should be though. She didn't want to admit that last night had changed anything. That she didn't want to sleep in a room with Parker. That she wanted to fall asleep in Dick's arms after a long night of lovemaking. Sex, not lovemaking. They weren't in love. They were just friends, who had sex, to get over their personal stuff.

As though it wasn't bad enough that she could think of nothing other than Dick. He had sent her several texts that ranged from sweet and flirty, to hot and dirty. Damn him. She needed to put a stop to this before it got out of hand.

When she came through the door of the penthouse, she was surprised to find Dick looking… amazing… in a suit.

"Hey, you look nice. Special occasion?" she asked cautiously.

He grinned. "Dinner reservations."

"Oh? You have special plans?" she asked, laying her laptop bag onto the coffee table.

"We do, yes. That French place that just opened. Maurice's," he said nonchalantly.

"You're shitting me! How did you get reservations there? The place is booked for months! It's supposed to be amazing."

He shrugged. "I just made a call."

She laughed. "Okay, well, what time is dinner?"

"We should leave now, actually."

"Okay, well, let me go freshen up. I'll just be a minute," she said, grinning.

She washed her face and put on fresh make-up, more heavily applied for an evening out. On a date. She realized she was going out on a date with Dick. _Oh shit._ Did he think they were dating?

It certainly seemed that way. He opened the car door for her, and extended his arm as they walked through the parking lot. He pushed in her chair at the table, like a gentleman. She was on a date with Dick.

Not that she was complaining. The food was heavenly, an assortment of French delicacies, and the ambiance was perfect. A view of the ocean, soft candle-light. And surprisingly easy conversation with Dick. It was easy to forget that they weren't really a couple, that they weren't really in love. The way he looked at her… it was so very easy to forget.

After dinner, they took a walk on the beach. He'd discarded the jacket and tie and looked like something out of a catalog, with the sea breeze blowing through his hair, and his shirt clinging to his muscular chest. She was grateful there were people on the beach, or she might have ripped that shirt right off of him.

He took hold of her hand, the first intimate contact they'd had all evening, and pulled her to him for a kiss. She hesitated.

He frowned. "What's wrong?"

She sighed.

"Oh," he said, nodding. "I've got the wrong idea, don't I?"

"It's just, this has been wonderful, and last night was definitely amazing…"

"But it was just one night," he finished for her.

"Well, yeah… I mean, my room's ready back at Hearst, and you'll be moving back into the frat house soon…"

"Is that what you're worried about? Distance?"

"Well, no, but we'll be going back to our own lives, our own friends, and…"

"And you don't think our lives fit together," he said.

"No, they don't. I mean, it's been great hanging out with you and Logan this summer…"

"Wait, what are you saying? It's one thing to tell me you don't want a relationship, I mean, hell, I get that, you just broke up with Max, maybe it's all too soon. But, dammit, Mac, are you saying you don't even want to be my friend?"

"I'm saying, it's just that it'll be hard…"

He nodded. "Okay. Well, it's getting late, let's head back to the penthouse."

"Okay," she agreed, glumly. She noted it was the first time he hadn't called it "home."

Neither said a word on the drive back to the Neptune Grand.

Both immediately went back to their respective rooms to change. While she was taking off her heels, she resolved to go talk to Dick again. She didn't want him to think she didn't care about him, or that she was trying to shut him out of her life. It was just reality. She would make an effort, he'd see. They'd still be friends. And if there was something still between them, then maybe, they could see where that goes. But he was right; she did think it was just too soon.

And it was also too late. She heard the penthouse door slam, and she knew he'd left. She cursed. She'd really screwed up. Hurt the person who had picked up her pieces and been her friend when she'd had no others.

She texted him, asked him to come back and talk to her, but he didn't respond. Eventually she went to bed, feeling far worse than she had the day Max had left her.


	13. Chapter 13

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

When she woke up in the morning, the bellhop arrived just after she'd gotten dressed. Dick had sent him to collect her belongings, and paid him to transport them to her new dorm room. But there was no sign that he had ever come back last night. She called his phone, but he didn't answer. The thought occurred to her to trace his phone, make sure he was okay, but before she could, the penthouse door opened with a key swipe.

"Dick, thank god, I thought…"

She stopped when she saw Logan.

"Hey, Mac, what's going on?" he looked at her strangely.

She looked down at her hands. "I think I really screwed up, Logan."

It took him a moment to puzzle through it, then he groaned. "Oh no. Please tell me you didn't sleep with Dick."

"I didn't mean to, it was just… he was…" she said, helplessly.

"You know he's in love with you, right?" he frowned.

"What?" she exclaimed.

"Yeah. How many drunken proclamations has he made to you by now? And let's be honest, it wasn't Veronica that turned him around this summer. It was you. That night in the cemetery. Whatever happened, it changed him. For the better. He loves you. It's written all over his stupid face." Logan rubbed a hand through his hair in frustration.

"Shit," she said, sinking into the couch and putting her head in her hands.

"So, what happened after you hooked up?" he asked, sitting beside her.

"I went to work the next day, which was yesterday, and when I got back here, he said he had dinner reservations for us at this new restaurant with an impossible waitlist."

Logan whistled. "The French place? Maurice's? How the hell did he manage that?"

She shrugged. "Dinner was just normal, it was nice but it wasn't overtly romantic, and everything was fine. Then we went for a walk on the beach, and he realized my hesitation, and I told him it just wasn't going to work. Classes are starting soon, and we have our own lives, and they just don't fit together."

"Okay. And he didn't take it so well?"

"He didn't say much of anything, really. He was upset, I guess. Then we got back here and he just left. And he wouldn't return my texts or answer his phone, and now it's turned off. Logan, I'm worried." She realized they'd been in opposite positions just a few months prior.

He nodded. "Okay. I'll track him down. You go do what you need to do. Go to work, right? I'll let you know when I find him, that he's okay."

"Logan... I didn't know. If I'd known that sleeping together was more than just another notch on his bedpost, I would have never…"

"I know. Don't beat yourself up about it. He's a big boy, he'll be fine," he gave her a pat on the back, and pulled out his cell phone to get to work on finding Dick.

She nodded, and went to Logan's room to finish packing before she began to cry.

* * *

Logan texted her later to say he'd made contact with Dick, and he was taking a sailing trip out with some friends.

She sighed. That meant he was dropping his calculus class. She felt terrible. She knew she wasn't responsible for his irresponsible choices, but she also knew sleeping with him would have repercussions.

But the turmoil and guilt over Dick was short-lived when she got a text not even five minutes later from Veronica. "I got in!"

It took her a moment to riddle it out. Got in? Wait... _Stanford!_

"That's amazing!" she texted back. "We need to celebrate!"

"Dinner at Sprout, 1 hour?"

"Perfect!"

She met up with Veronica after work for dinner, but was surprised to not see Logan there too.

"I haven't told him yet," Veronica explained. "It's a game-changer. He isn't going to take it well."

"What do you mean?"

"It means it puts us apart for good. We made... progress... in Mexico. And if I wasn't leaving, well, maybe we'd try again. But I'm leaving," Veronica said definitively.

"Great. Well, at least they have each other," Mac sighed, miserably.

"I don't follow," Veronica said, confused.

Mac told her the whole sordid tale, from building a friendship with Dick all summer, to catching Max cheating, to how Dick had been there, the picture of them together in the paper from the fundraiser, to an amazing encounter on the beach...

"Ew, you can leave out those details," Veronica said, pretending to gag.

Mac laughed. "It wasn't gross. It was incredible, and by far the best sex I've ever had."

Veronica continued to gag.

"Stop. Seriously," she laughed harder.

Veronica laughed. "Okay, so Dick's a stud," she gagged again, "and you're big points for Sex Quest. I don't see the problem here."

"The problem is it wasn't just sex for Dick," she said miserably.

"I don't follow," Veronica said again.

"It wasn't meaningless sex for Dick. He wanted us to be together. I turned him down. Logan says he's in love with me, has been for a while. After I turned him down, he disappeared. Logan says he's left with some friends, gone sailing or something."

"Well, that sounds like Dick, to run away from his problems instead of facing them."

Mac looked at Veronica knowingly.

"What?" Veronica asked.

"Nothing. But you're about to break Logan's heart. Why not ask him to go with you? Or at least leave the door open? He's barely interested in classes anyway, and I'm sure he could buy his admission to Stanford and transfer if he really even wanted to finish his degree."

She shook her head. "I applied to Stanford for a fresh start, and I think I need it. Taking him with me won't solve my problems."

"Neither will running away," Mac pointed out.

"Hey, it works just as well," Veronica sighed.

"Well, I can't say I'm happy you're leaving, but I'm thrilled for you getting into Stanford," Mac smiled. She decided it wasn't her place to argue for Logan.

"Yeah, I can hardly believe it. I just got back today, and there was the admissions letter!"

"Well, you'll know one person there at least. Dick's ex-girlfriend Taylor. She'll be there this fall too."

"Oh, yeah, I forgot about her. What happened with her and Dick?"

"Stanford. He didn't really seem to care though… I guess he had other interests," she sighed.

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about Dick. He'll recover. He's managed to recover from all the other shit that's happened to him. I'm sure he'll manage a little heartbreak. Might even be good for him."

"Yeah, I don't know..."

"All right. Time for me to bite the bullet and tell Logan," she said, tossing cash on the table and standing up. "Mac… you'll look out for him, won't you? Make sure he's okay?"

She nodded. "When are you leaving?"

"I talked to Dad on the phone this morning and told him the news. He's driving me up tomorrow to get me settled in to the dorms. Transfer student orientation and all that."

"Damn, that's too soon," she frowned.

Veronica gave her a hug and whispered, "I'll miss you, Q."

Mac smiled sadly. "I'll miss you too, Bond. But I'm super proud of you anyway. You're getting out of Neptune!"

Veronica nodded. "I realized awhile ago that no good can come of me staying in Neptune. Wherever I go from Stanford, I won't be landing back here."

Mac wasn't quite sure she believed her, but she didn't think it was her Veronica was trying to convince.


End file.
